Back in July — as part of mass layoffs at Xbox — John Romero's new project had its funding pulled, before the game was ever properly announced to the public. In the wake of finding out, studio Romero Games put out a statement saying that it was still "trying to fund" the project - and the DOOM co-creator has now given us an update on how that's all going.
Speaking with GameReactor, Romero says that "we have a lot of companies that are interested and still working with us [on securing a deal]" - adding "we own the IP, we own the code, we own everything about the game". The studio head then went on to talk about how much money had been put into the title already, before adding that Romero Games was "about midway through" the project before funding was pulled.
"We own the IP, we own the code, we own everything about the game, right? So we have a lot of companies that are interested and still working with us on it, because when you develop a game for years and you put in, say, $50 million into a game, if you move and start working with somebody else, they get $50 million for free.
So lots of people want to continue working on something, you know, and even if that doesn't happen, you have $50 million worth of assets that you can use to make another thing. So no matter what, you are shortcutting the end of your game, right? To be able to get your game done faster, you already have a lot there already."
It's a shame to see the project go in this direction, and seemingly be trapped in a little bit of limbo while the studio secures a deal on its new title. Back in July, securing another publisher sounded pretty promising - but as four or five months pass us by, it's clear that figuring all that out is proving tougher than it was maybe first thought.
We'll continue to monitor this one, especially as Romero Games seems so open and candid about everything that's going on. In the meantime, you can read over our July updates on the DOOM Co-creator's new project down below.