id Software Confirms Full Commitment to id Tech
id Software is making it clear that its future remains tied to id Tech, not Unreal Engine 5. According to Windows Central, Executive Producer Marty Stratton confirmed that the DOOM studio has no plans to shift its development pipeline away from its proprietary engine, even after recent Xbox restructuring raised concerns about staffing, technology continuity and the long term direction of Bethesda owned studios. His comments directly address speculation that id Software could eventually move toward Unreal Engine 5 as Microsoft continues reshaping its gaming division.
"We're all in on id Tech, we're not moving to Unreal Engine."
— Quote by: Marty Stratton.
Stratton said a recent internal meeting with several technical directors showed strong confidence in the studio’s technology roadmap, adding that players should not be worried about id Software’s ability to remain a technical powerhouse. The statement is important because id Tech has long been central to the studio’s identity, especially across modern DOOM titles where performance, responsiveness, visual clarity and high frame rate gameplay are part of the core experience. Concerns grew after reports claimed that the id Tech team was heavily impacted by Xbox layoffs, while later comments from Hugo Martin pushed back against the idea that id Software had been gutted.
The situation remains sensitive because layoffs can affect more than headcount. For a studio built around custom technology, the loss of experienced engineers can weaken institutional knowledge, slow tool development and place more pressure on remaining technical leads. Stratton acknowledged the difficulty of the recent cuts, but he maintained that id Software still has the leadership, technical depth and creative ownership needed to continue building its own games on its own technology. MachineGames is also expected to remain connected to id Tech, which suggests the engine may continue serving a broader role across Bethesda projects if Microsoft preserves enough long term engineering investment.
id Software staying with id Tech is the right move from a brand, gameplay and performance standpoint. Unreal Engine 5 is powerful and widely adopted, but DOOM has a very specific technical identity that depends on speed, precision and optimization. A shift to Unreal Engine could simplify some production workflows, but it could also make future id Software titles feel less distinct in a market where many AAA games already share similar rendering, animation and development pipelines. The bigger question is not whether id Tech survives as a name, but whether Microsoft gives id Software the resources to keep evolving it at the same standard players expect from one of the industry’s most important technology driven studios.
Should id Software continue investing in id Tech, or would Unreal Engine 5 make more sense for the studio’s future under Xbox?
