0 Twitter Telegram Whatsapp Facebook Andrew Willis, a producer at id Software, believes that the chaos engulfing Microsoft Gaming can no longer support cosmetic solutions, especially with the implementation of a plan to lay off 3,200 employees from the Xbox division. For him, there is only one way to save the industry: that studios be owned by their workers, not by executives who do not hesitate to sacrifice thousands of jobs to achieve their financial goals.
Willis expressed his sadness over the recent wave of layoffs in a post on LinkedIn, which affected 136 employees out of 185 at id Software, describing the decision as “unacceptable.”
“The gaming industry is run today by people who fundamentally do not understand it, and do not even realize how value is created or profits are made.”
In a new post, Willis went beyond mere criticism, affirming that the real solution lies in the emergence of studios owned by developers themselves, arising from the waves of closures and layoffs currently striking the industry.
“The only way I see that can repair the video game industry at this stage is for studios owned by developers to start emerging, benefiting from the waves of studio closures and employee layoffs.”
This proposal carries a special significance, as id Software itself was founded in 1991 by the developers of Doom, but Willis speaks of a more advanced model, which is labor cooperatives, where all employees become partners in studio ownership and decision-making, rather than leaving the fate of thousands of developers in the hands of a limited number of executives.
Although this model is not perfect, the Motion Twin studio, which developed the game Dead Cells and is owned by its workers, witnessed a public dispute with the game's lead director in 2024, yet many believe that internal disputes remain far better than waking up to an email from an executive they have never met, informing them that they lost their jobs among thousands of layoffs.
Willis, who was also one of the main supporters of establishing a union for workers at id Software in 2025, emphasized the need to learn lessons from past mistakes, saying:
“We must learn from the past, manage our business responsibly financially, and build an environment that achieves sustainable growth. But growth should be a result of success, not a goal in itself.”
He then reiterated his belief that this is the only path capable of saving the industry, adding:
“This is the only path I see moving forward. Big publishing companies and monopolies have proven to be the worst managers of this industry and have shown themselves to be even worse at financial management.”
Willis's statements align with what happened within Microsoft Gaming over the past two years, as the company laid off about 2,500 employees in 2024 before cutting nearly 15,000 additional jobs company-wide in 2025. Despite all these cuts, the Xbox division started 2026 with a 9% decline in revenue, raising questions about the effectiveness of these policies.
In concluding his remarks, Willis summed up his vision with a statement bearing a clear message to major publishers:
“When the people who create value own that value themselves, good results will inevitably follow.”
A message that many see as encapsulating the current gaming industry crisis: developers are the ones who make the games, but the decisive decisions are still being made far from them.
I have loved video games since the days of the family console, and I prefer adventure games like Tomb Raider and Assassins Creed (before the shift to RPGs), I have no bias towards any home console; to me, the best is the one that offers the most outstanding games. What matters to me are experiences with compelling storytelling, as the story is the foundation of enjoyment more than the gameplay.
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