John Romero Survives the Xbox Crisis With a Shooter That Looks to Breath of the Wild

John Romero is back at the center of the conversation. According to IGN España, the co-founder of id Software and father of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake is working on a new shooter that takes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as its reference point. And there is one detail that makes it even more striking: the project has managed to keep going despite the crisis that has shaken Xbox in recent times.

The news matters for two reasons. The first is the name: Romero has spent five decades in the industry, and few people have done as much to define what we understand today as first-person shooting. The second is the timing. For a relatively small studio to come out of a wave of cuts alive says a lot about the trust someone has placed in this idea. Romero himself, moreover, says he holds no grudge over what happened, something he describes as part of his character.

What you need to know

• Who: John Romero, co-founder of id Software and key designer of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake.
• What: a new shooter whose stated inspiration is Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo's open-world game.
• The context: the project has survived the Xbox crisis, the period of cuts and cancellations that has hit Microsoft and its associated studios.
• The attitude: Romero says he feels no resentment about what happened, because that is not who he is.
• What we don't know: IGN España gives no details on the game's name, release date, platforms or specific mechanics.

A veteran who has seen it all

Romero's career is one of the longest and bumpiest in the medium. His time at id Software in the nineties marked the birth of the modern shooter with Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, three titles that remain a reference for any level designer. More difficult periods followed, and the source places the most recent one squarely in this Xbox crisis, when the cuts threatened his studio too.

The fact that the game is still standing is no small detail. In a climate where Microsoft has closed or downsized teams and cancelled projects, every survivor survives for a reason. The most sensible reading is that whoever makes the decisions sees a value in this shooter that they do not see in others. We have no figures or names, so we are not going to speculate about budgets, but simply carrying on is already a statement.

What does a shooter inspired by Breath of the Wild mean?

Here we move into analysis territory, because the source does not explain how that inspiration translates into the game. Breath of the Wild stands out for an open world built on freedom, exploration without constant markers, and systems that interact with one another. Applying that philosophy to a shooter could mean open maps where the player decides the order and manner of tackling each challenge, with environmental design doing the guiding instead of corridors.

That fits with what Romero has always championed: levels that teach through play, without lengthy tutorials, and combat that rewards reading the space. If the team manages to bring Nintendo's sense of curiosity into a shooter with the pace that defines Romero, the result could be something we have never seen before. If not, it will remain a marketing label. For now we only have the intention, not the product.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom we are very interested in this story, but we are keeping our feet on the ground. Romero is a legend and his name sells. That is precisely why it pays not to get carried away: a great designer from the nineties does not guarantee a great shooter in 2026, and the Breath of the Wild reference is as appealing as it is risky. Open worlds demand an enormous amount of content and polish, something that is hard to sustain for a studio that has just come through a crisis.

For the competitive community, the big question is whether this game will have anything to offer beyond the campaign. The source makes no mention of multiplayer or a competitive component, and a shooter built around exploration and freedom is not usually natural tournament territory. That does not make it any less interesting, but it does force us to see it as a potential title to enjoy and discuss, not as a future esports discipline.

For content creators the story is different. An open world with gunplay and Romero's signature is prime material for livestreams, design breakdowns and comparisons with Doom. And Romero's own attitude, saying he holds no grudge after the Xbox crisis, is an example of maturity the industry needs more than ever. Let's hope the game lives up to the man.

What do you think?

A shooter with Romero's DNA and the freedom of Breath of the Wild sounds like either a dream or an impossible recipe, depending on who you ask. We want to see it with our own eyes before getting excited. Drop by the team chat or our Discord and tell us: do you think John Romero can change the shooter genre once again, or is his best moment behind him?