Skip to main content PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES Search PC Gamer View Profile Movies & TV Gaming Industry PC Gaming Show Newsletter Signup Community Guidelines Affiliate Links Meet the team About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine Subscription Why subscribe? Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View Early Prime Day Deals Essential Hardware PC Gaming Show Dune: Awakening Recommended reading Gaming Industry Romero Games' new shooter loses funding, the studio may be closing, and it looks like Microsoft is to blame Gaming Industry Before cancelling ZeniMax's Destiny-style MMO shooter, Xbox executives reportedly enjoyed early demos so much that the controller had to be pulled from Phil Spencer's hands Gaming Industry 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' Gaming Industry Hideo Kojima's mysterious OD reportedly escapes the cancellation axe at Microsoft Game Development 'We wish to express our deepest regret': Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs XDefiant is now ex-Defiant as the game closes and its executive producer leaves Ubisoft: 'We just didn't have the gas to go the distance' Gaming Industry A new MMO in development at Elder Scrolls Online studio ZeniMax has been cancelled as Microsoft puts thousands more people out of work Romero Games reportedly met with Microsoft just a day before the publisher pulled funding for the studio, and there was 'no mention' of the decision that put over 100 people out of work Ted Litchfield 6 July 2025 Romero Games is pursuing alternate sources of funding, but for the time being, it sounds like the dream is dead. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Danny Cozens/BAFTA via Getty Images) As reported by TheJournal.ie (via VGC), Doom designer John Romero and Wizardry 8 developer Brenda Romero's studio, Romero Games, has fully closed following the withdrawal of publisher funding for its in-development FPS. Former employees have stated that the publisher in question was Microsoft, making Romero Games another casualty of the tech giant's most recent round of cuts and mass layoffs. We previously reported on Romero Games' statement on the loss of funding, but TheJournal.ie confirmed the closure and shed more light on the circumstances surrounding it. A former employee told TheJournal.ie that Romero Games "had meetings with the publisher the day before this happened, there was no mention of it." Though there were concerns at the studio given Microsoft's recent streak of layoffs and studio closures, "It seemed so far away from us," the employee said. "The title was pretty well developed at the time." Records show that Romero Games directly employed 42 people, but TheJournal.ie reported that external staff working on the unnamed FPS project brought the total number of those affected to over 100. Related Articles Romero Games' new shooter loses funding, the studio may be closing, and it looks like Microsoft is to blame Before cancelling ZeniMax's Destiny-style MMO shooter, Xbox executives reportedly enjoyed early demos so much that the controller had to be pulled from Phil Spencer's hands 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' We were not keen on Romero Games' first standalone project, 2020's Empire of Sin. Online Editor Fraser Brown felt it had exciting potential and ambitions, but that it failed to stick the landing, awarding it a 49% in his review. Empire of Sin did, however, get a surprise expansion just last month from developer Moonmana. Less fraught were unofficial Doom expansions Sigil and Sigil 2, released by Romero Games in 2018 and 2023 respectively. The megawads have proven a winning addition to the Doom canon, with both included in Nightdive's remaster of the original Doom. If Romero Games' in-development FPS could have maintained Sigil's design excellence in a full-on triple-A FPS, then we missed out on a modern classic in the making. Romero Games appeared to have been gearing up for an announcement before this calamity, increasing its output on social media. The most exciting part of this was an "FPS Fridays" series on Twitch featuring Romero checking out other FPSes, including New Blood's Dusk. It sounds like there's still a faint sliver of hope for Romero Games. "We're trying to find other ways of funding the project," the employee interviewed by TheJournal.ie said. "But for now, it's completely closed, and the studio is closed." A surprise stay of execution wouldn't be without precedent: Tango Gameworks was revived by Krafton after Microsoft shut the studio down last year. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releases Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Ted Litchfield Social Links Navigation Associate Editor Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Romero Games' new shooter loses funding, the studio may be closing, and it looks like Microsoft is to blame Before cancelling ZeniMax's Destiny-style MMO shooter, Xbox executives reportedly enjoyed early demos so much that the controller had to be pulled from Phil Spencer's hands 'There has to be a better way than this': Game developers call Microsoft's latest layoffs 'a colossal waste of talent' from a publisher that seems like it's in 'a death spiral' Hideo Kojima's mysterious OD reportedly escapes the cancellation axe at Microsoft 'We wish to express our deepest regret': Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs XDefiant is now ex-Defiant as the game closes and its executive producer leaves Ubisoft: 'We just didn't have the gas to go the distance' Latest in FPS 'There are no plans to drop support for SteamOS': The Finals devs commit to Steam Deck and Linux players despite new kernel-level anti-cheat What happened to the creator of Gunman Chronicles, Valve's forgotten FPS? 'My relationship with Gabe didn't really go that great' Perfect Dark dev shoots down claim the ace-looking reveal was fake: 'It's probably more real than you think' Warren Spector was so desperate to make Deus Ex that it almost became a Command & Conquer RPG: 'I was going to find a way to make it one way or another, even if it meant making another damn sci-fi game!' Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 – All the key details on the next Call of Duty RoboCop: Rogue City's expansion will let you play as ED-209, but I'm more excited about having some guns I might use instead of the Auto 9 Latest in News 'There are no plans to drop support for SteamOS': The Finals devs commit to Steam Deck and Linux players despite new kernel-level anti-cheat Arkane Studios founder slams Microsoft for its Game Pass focus: 'At some point reality has to hit' Subnautica 2 studio begs rioting fans for benefit of the doubt after leadership axed by owner Krafton: 'The team that has been working on the game day-to-day over the last few years remains completely unchanged' European game publisher group responds to Stop Killing Games, claims 'These proposals would curtail developer choice" Former Forza dev says original Motorsport series died in Microsoft's cuts, but Forza Horizon lives on After nearly 4 years, Windows 11 is finally more popular than Windows 10 HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop NZXT N7 Z890 review NZXT N9 X870E review NZXT N9 Z890 review Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review Razer Joro & Basilisk Mobile review PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Contact Future's experts Terms and conditions Privacy policy Cookies policy Advertise with us Accessibility Statement Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Please login or signup to comment Please wait...