Former id Software developers form Hidden Horses after Microsoft's 3,200 layoffs
Published 11 Nov 2026 · Games Atlas Editorial · Company Formation · Companies: id Software, Microsoft, Xbox Game Studios
Games Atlas summary: Twenty former id Software developers have formed Hidden Horses, an employee-owned independent studio. The formation follows Microsoft's 3,200 layoffs across Xbox Game Studios that gutted id Software's team. Hidden Horses' debut project, Danger Pay, is an arena-based single-player FPS inspired by Smash TV and The Running Man. The studio plans to fund development partly through a Kickstarter campaign still being finalized.
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Games Atlas — Games Industry Intelligence (2026). Former id Software developers form Hidden Horses after Microsoft's 3,200 layoffs. Published 11 Nov 2026. https://gamesatlas.app/article/former-id-software-developers-form-hidden-horses-after-microsofts-3200-layoffs
Worker ownership as a retention mechanic
- Hidden Horses operates as an employee-owned studio rather than a publisher-backed outfit.
- Co-founder and engine programmer Dustin Land frames the model around keeping the team together, not any single project.
- "What made that experience special wasn't just the projects we worked on; it was the people we worked with." - Dustin Land, Co-founder and engine programmer, Hidden Horses
Layoffs hit a team praised for its Doom work
- Microsoft's cuts struck id Software despite the studio being repeatedly praised for its work on the Doom franchise.
- The 20 founders carried over a decade of shared collaboration at id Software into the new venture.
- Named founders include VFX artist Todd Boyce, principal engine programmer Dustin Land, and senior AI and gameplay engineer Daniel Young.
- Other founders include producer Andrew Willis and technical designers Jordan Turner and Tim Locke.
A hybrid funding structure to de-risk the launch
- Danger Pay centers on a deadly game show hosted by what the studio calls a "sinister but charming AI host."
- The studio describes the project as classic arena FPS gameplay with a focus on weapons and enemy variety.
- Funding combines the founders' own capital with a Kickstarter campaign currently being finalized.
- This structure spreads early financing across community backing instead of a single publisher deal.