Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein survive Xbox's ZeniMax overhaul as Mojang moves under CEO Sharma

Xbox's sweeping restructuring — which sees Double Fine, Arkane, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs all cut loose — also reshapes how the studios staying under Microsoft will operate. ZeniMax is getting a significant overhaul, but according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, that doesn't mean everything outside Fallout and The Elder Scrolls gets shelved.

Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein will continue to be worked on under the publisher, even as ZeniMax pivots to prioritise its biggest franchises. CEO Asha Sharma confirmed in her announcement email that none of Xbox's publicly announced first-party games or projects are being cancelled as part of these cuts. Sharma also announced that Mojang — the studio behind Minecraft — will now report directly to her, alongside mobile giant Candy Crush from King. Her reasoning: both have "increasingly become platforms" and are Xbox's largest properties by monthly active players.

Game File reports that Sharma believes Minecraft has been massively underinvested in for roughly the past six years, losing ground to Roblox while the game was effectively used as a funding source for Xbox's broader gaming ambitions. Roblox, meanwhile, has been aggressively reinvesting in its own platform. The implication is that significantly more money will now flow back into Mojang's sandbox.

The broader picture is a Microsoft gaming division in the middle of a painful reset — 3,200 jobs cut, five studios divested, and a clear signal that the company wants fewer, bigger bets going forward. For fans of id Software's classic franchises, the confirmation that Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein aren't casualties of that strategy is at least some relief amid an otherwise grim day for the industry.