{"rewrite":{"id":"r_2f6595981adc2ac57b428107","clusterId":"c_7f31871b2f408875db6c3bb0","slug":"former-id-software-veterans-form-hidden-horses-after-microsoft-layoffs","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Former id Software Veterans Form Hidden Horses After Microsoft Layoffs","summary":"About 20 former id Software developers announced the founding of a new independent studio, Hidden Horses, on November 11, 2026, and released a documentary video about the circumstances behind it. The founders are veterans who lost their jobs in the Microsoft layoffs of July 6, 2026, which cut roughly 4,800 positions company-wide. Texas state documents cited by 4Gamer.net put the id Software dismissals at 136 people, 96 at the Richardson headquarters and 40 remote workers attached to that site, more than half the studio's staff at the time. The group includes engine programmer Dustin Land, lead VFX artist Todd Boyce, AI engineer Daniel Young, executive producer Andrew Willis, former tools programmer Johnmichael Quinlan and technical designer Jordan Turner. The studio's first project is Danger Pay, a single-player arena FPS set in a deadly game show with an evil AI host, and a Kickstarter campaign is planned to fund part of development.","whyItMatters":"The founders are building Hidden Horses as an employee-owned studio where staff hold equal shares and management decisions are made democratically, a structure the cluster presents as a deliberate break from the corporate ownership that presided over the layoffs.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe founding group\u0026#39;s combined industry experience is put at more than 250 years, and many members worked at the same development site for over a decade. The layoffs also removed programmers who had maintained id Software\u0026#39;s proprietary id Tech engine, which 4Gamer.net describes as the loss of technology and know-how built up over many years.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the documentary, Quinlan says the timing of the dismissals, just before the release of the DOOM: The Dark Ages DLC, felt like an attack on id Software. Turner calls it one of the hardest days of his life. Willis, the executive producer, says the team should have a stake in what it builds, and shares are distributed equally among the developers rather than sold to outside investors. Land frames the studio as a way to keep the same colleagues together and make the old-school shooters they want to play.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDanger Pay draws on the 1987 film The Running Man and the arcade game Smash TV. The Kickstarter page is already listed as launching soon, and the studio opened an official website, a Discord server and a YouTube documentary alongside the announcement.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Texas state documents put the id Software layoffs at 136 people, more than half the studio. About 20 of them have now founded Hidden Horses, where employees hold equal shares.","twitterPost":"Hidden Horses is employee-owned: staff become co-founders, shares are split equally, and major decisions are made democratically. Its first game is Danger Pay, an arena FPS with an evil AI host.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"About 20 former id Software developers have founded Hidden Horses, an employee-owned studio, after Microsoft's July 2026 layoffs cut 136 people from the DOOM maker. The studio's first project is Danger Pay, a single-player arena FPS, with a Kickstarter planned.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20261112006/\",\"title\":\"Former DOOM Developers Establish New Studio Hidden Horses; Roughly 20 Veterans Reunite After Microsoft's Mass Layoffs\"},{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261112-478831/\",\"title\":\"Former id Software staff affected by Xbox's large-scale layoffs establish new studio; veterans behind 'DOOM' and others gather to make an FPS from 'those days'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6902,"outputTokens":938,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1794454394,"createdAt":"2026-11-12T03:27:46.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-11-12T03:32:10.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-12T03:32:10.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_7f31871b2f408875db6c3bb0","canonicalTitle":"「DOOM」の元開発者たちが新スタジオHidden Horsesを設立。Microsoftの大規模リストラを経て，約20人のベテランが再結集","representativeArticleId":"a_a327c4c1430c928a0cf45754","sourceCount":3,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"DOOM\"],\"studios\":[\"id Software\",\"Hidden Horses\",\"Microsoft\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"business\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-11-12T02:49:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-11-13T03:15:02.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-13T03:17:08.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20261112006/","title":"「DOOM」の元開発者たちが新スタジオHidden Horsesを設立。Microsoftの大規模リストラを経て，約20人のベテランが再結集"},{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261112-478831/","title":"XBOX大規模レイオフの影響を受けた「元id Softwareスタッフ」が新スタジオ設立。『DOOM』などを手がけたベテラン集い、“あの頃”のFPSを手がける"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/11/13/174825.html","title":"従業員激減があっても…id Softwareは「次のゲームに取り掛かっている」―『DOOM』シリーズを手がけたHugo Martin氏が引き続きディレクターを担当"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["DOOM"],"studios":["id Software","Hidden Horses","Microsoft"],"people":[],"type":"business","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Texas state documents put the id Software layoffs at 136 people, 96 at the Richardson headquarters and 40 remote workers.","The Hidden Horses founding members' combined game industry experience exceeds 250 years.","Hidden Horses' first project is Danger Pay, a single-player arena FPS, with a Kickstarter campaign planned."],"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":["doom","id-software","hidden-horses","microsoft"],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[{"slug":"doom","supported":1,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":18,"overall":"green","story_count":18,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"id-software","supported":1,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":7,"overall":"green","story_count":7,"has_dossier":false},{"slug":"hidden-horses","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":2,"overall":"unverified","story_count":1,"has_dossier":false},{"slug":"microsoft","supported":4,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":32,"overall":"green","story_count":33,"has_dossier":true}],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}