Doom co-creator John Romero recently announced that an upcoming project previously shelved due to lack of funding has a new chance at life. Although the game’s scope will look different now, one key element remains from its earlier iteration.
Initially, it seems that the unnamed game lost its publisher – which looks to have been Xbox via Microsoft – when the company experienced layoffs. The game was shaping up to be a shooter, which, despite all the changes, still seems true.
After the publisher pulled back, Romero Games tried to fund the game on its own. According to Romero, though, that unfortunately just wasn’t possible. Although Romero Games kept everyone on “as long as they could”, eventually, the team dwindled, and it became clear the game they had in mind wasn’t going to happen.
The team that began with 110 people ended up much smaller, and Romero says they then had to figure out what to do with a team that size. Romero Games still owned everything relating to the game, including the IP, the code, and all the graphics and art. He hoped to use as much of that content as possible to get a jumpstart on whatever project came next.
He reached out to a contact, and they were able to reach a deal. Although he can’t yet share who it was, or who the new publisher will be, Romero says that they were able to use a lot of material they already had, including art, weapons, and certain characters. He also shared that the unnamed publisher has “zero creative goals for this game”, meaning that Romero and his team, which ended up being around 15-16 people, had total creative freedom.
‘Doom’ Creator John Romero Shares a Surprising Update on His Previously Canceled Game
With the game undergoing a metamorphosis to fit the new team, Romero says the game they at first had in mind simply isn’t getting made – but that’s okay. They are now working on a “complete redesign” that has “a lot of the work we used in previous games” as its building blocks. He adds that he and his team are very excited about the new direction they are heading in and how everything with this game is turning out.
Romero also shared that he prefers working on a smaller team like this, because it enables him to be more involved himself, rather than having to oversee other departments. Everyone on the team knows what they’re doing, and they can work closely together.
Though further information isn’t available yet, from a title to a possible release window, it’s encouraging to see that Romero Games is still working on this project and embracing these new opportunities.
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