Ex-id Software Producer Reveals Doom DLC
Former id Software producer Andrew Willis says the team endured the 'worst crunch' in the series' history while developing the Doom: The Dark Ages
A former id Software producer has described brutal working conditions during the development of the Doom: The Dark Ages expansion, Revelations. Andrew Willis told the Kiwi Talkz podcast for Insider Gaming that the team faced the most intense crunch period in the franchise's history.
Willis detailed a punishing schedule. He said there were two months where he worked at least 12 hours every day, hitting 17 hours on a couple of days. He described the experience as "brutal" and said most of the expansion was put together in just three or four months. This is a ridiculously short turnaround for a six-hour expansion, especially compared to the five-year development cycle for the 20-hour main game. The planned schedule was even tighter, but feature-creep extended the work as new elements were added during development.
The Human Cost
"There were days where I didn't get to see my son the whole day; multiple days of that that I sacrificed to get this out the door at the level of quality," Willis said. He stated that everybody on the team had a similar experience.
Veteran Reactions
Even seasoned developers were shocked. Willis said the team included people with 20 years in Hollywood and 10 years in game development. They called it the worst crunch they had ever been part of.
Willis clarified that id Software did not officially mandate crunch. However, he suggested it was effectively unavoidable, calling it "pseudo-induced crunch." The immense workload and tight deadlines made the implication clear. "You get loaded up with 60 hours of work in a week, and what do you do?" he explained. "It's almost this thing like, at the level of quality that the players expect and that you expect from yourself, it's kind of like almost pseudo-induced crunch."
Layoffs After Launch
The crunch culminated in layoffs for many team members. Willis was among the 136 id Software staff cut by Microsoft as part of larger cuts that slashed 1,600 jobs. He revealed the Revelations team learned about the layoffs the day before the expansion was due to launch.
"You spend so much of your energy and hours of your life, and sacrifice a bunch of things to get something out of the door, and then they lay you off," Willis said. "It's such a wild feeling."
The source report speculates on potential causes for the rushed expansion. It notes that The Dark Ages sold significantly fewer copies than 2020's Doom Eternal, though this was anticipated due to its day-one release on Game Pass. It raises questions about whether the rush was an internal decision or due to pressure from Xbox higher-ups. Despite the layoffs, id Software creative director Hugo Martin has insisted the studio is fine.
