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.