John Romero confirms his cancelled Xbox shooter has found a new publisher

[Enterprise]

John Romero's studio has found a way forward after losing its publishing deal. Video Games Chronicle reports that Romero has confirmed his studio's game now has a new publisher, and that he has rehired some of the staff who were let go

Romero Games lost funding for its unannounced shooter this summer, when its publisher, later revealed to be Microsoft, pulled out during wider layoffs. Speaking to VGC at Gamescom Asia, Romero would not name the new publisher or say when the game will be announced

The studio had shrunk from 110 people to just five. Romero has now rehired ten people, the leads of the former teams, bringing the studio to around 15 or 16. He says the studio fully owns the name, intellectual property, art and code

The original 110 person version of the game will not be finished. Instead, the new project is a complete redesign of a different game that reuses characters, art, weapons and code, and it is still a shooter. Romero says he is working without a producer, directly in Unreal Editor, and that the publisher has no creative input

Owning the intellectual property gave Romero options that many studios in his position do not have. It is good to see some jobs come back, even if far fewer than before. A smaller, leaner game from the co-creator of Doom is an intriguing prospect

Are you excited to see what Romero makes next? And should more studios fight to keep their own intellectual property?

John Romero Confirms His Axed Xbox Game Has A New Publisher And Hes Rehired Some Staffwww.videogameschronicle.com