Doom’s Development Studio Forms a Union

The developers behind Doom: The Dark Ages have recently joined the growing trend of unionization sweeping through Microsoft-owned game studios. This movement aims to secure a voice in critical decisions, such as layoffs, for teams across various Xbox studios, including those at Blizzard and Bethesda.

On Friday, approximately 165 employees at id Software announced their unionization with the Communications Workers of America. This union is comprehensive, encompassing all non-managerial developers at the studio, whether they are artists or engineers. This decision follows significant layoffs at Microsoft that resulted in the cancellation of several games and the dismissal of their teams.

“The wall-to-wall organizing effort at id Software was much needed; it’s incredibly important that developers across the industry unite to push back on all the unilateral workplace changes that are being handed down from industry executives,” said Andrew Willis, a producer at id Software. “The union is a way for us, the developers, to take back control of the industry we love and to ensure that it delivers high-quality products from high-quality workers who have health benefits and longevity beyond quarterly profits.”

In a related event, around 40 game developers associated with a labor group gathered outside the Peacock Theater, where the Game Awards were set to take place, to stage a demonstration titled “the industry is dead.”

Founded in Texas in 1991 by John Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack, id Software revolutionized 3D gaming with titles like Wolfenstein 3D in 1992 and the original Doom in 1993. The studio is also known for iconic shooter franchises such as Quake and Rage. In 2009, it was acquired by Zenimax, the parent company of Bethesda, which was later purchased by Microsoft for over $8 billion in 2021. Earlier this year, the team released Doom: The Dark Ages, which received multiple nominations at The Game Awards 2025 and won for best accessibility options.

This new union comes just a couple of years after the QA team at id Software first organized. Earlier this year, Bethesda Game Studios secured its first collective bargaining contract with Microsoft, providing a framework for other teams as they begin negotiations on working conditions, including pay, remote work, and severance.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this effort to organize our studio, to have a voice in decisions that directly affect myself and my coworkers,” stated Caroline Pierrot, a senior VFX artist at id Software. “In an industry that has proven to be very unstable over the last few years, more unions mean more power to the workers and a real shot at shaping the future of the industry for the better.”