Just
last
week,
Romero
Games,
founded
by
DOOM
co-creator
John
Romero
and
his
wife
Brenda
Romero,
was
in
serious
trouble
following
its
publisher
pulling
funding.
Staff
members
were
laid
off,
and
the
game
the
team
was
developing
was
cancelled.
The
future
of
the
studio
was
left
in
doubt,
and
since
then
reports
have
even
suggested
the
studio
had
closed.
Romero
Games
has
officially
dispelled
those
rumours
in
a
new
statement.

Speaking
on
X,
the
studio
posted
a
quick
bullet-point
missive
addressing
the
recent
news.
It
starts
by
confirming
what
we
already
knew:
funding
was
pulled
and
the
game
cancelled,
and
that
“due
to
confidentiality
agreements,
we
cannot
disclose
the
publisher’s
identity,
though
some
may
infer
it
from
public
information.”

Update
(July
7,
2025)

pic.twitter.com/9QoZ7RWY3S

—
Romero
Games
Ltd.
(@romerogamesltd)

July
7,
2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Said
publisher
is
almost
certainly
Microsoft
which
went
on
yet
another
budget-cutting
spree
last
week,

shutting
down
The
Initiative,

cancelling
Everwild
and

Zenimax
Online
Studio’s
in-development
game,
and
laying
off
an
unknown
amount
of
people.
Some
of
Romero’s
own
laid-off
staff
members
confirmed
Microsoft
was
the
publisher
in
question.

“As
a
result,
we
now
have
to
reassess
the
entire
staffing
of
our
studio,”
says
Romero
Games.

But
now
for
some
good
news:
“Romero
games
is
not
closed,
and
we
are
doing
everything
in
our
power
to
ensure
it
does
not
come
to
that.”

The
post
goes
on
to
say
that
Romero
Games
has
been
contacted
by
several
publishers
who
are
“interested
in
helping
bring
the
game
across
the
finish
line”.

This,
of
course,
destroys
my
little
theory
which
was
that,
given
Romero’s
history,
the
studio
might
be
working
with
Microsoft
on
something
DOOM
related.
If
another
publisher
is
able
to
step
in,
that
means
the
game
isn’t
tied
to
a
Microsoft
IP.

Personally,
I
think
it
would
be
hilarious
if
Sony
or
Nintendo
decided
to
jump
in
and
publish
the
game
instead.

Other
people
in
the
comments
on
X
have
urged
Romero
to
crowdfund
instead
and
self-publish
the
project.