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Former id Software developers form employee-owned studio Hidden Horses
PC Gamer reports that about 20 former id Software developers have formed Hidden Horses, an employee-owned studio, and are planning a Kickstarter for a single-player arena shooter called Danger Pay.
TIGGEEK Newsroom · · 2 min read
A group of former id Software developers has formed Hidden Horses, an employee-owned studio, PC Gamer reported on November 11, 2026. The studio says it is co-founded by "approximately 20" former id staff and cites "over 250 collective years" of game-development experience among them.
Who is involved, and why now
PC Gamer ties the announcement to Microsoft's July 2026 wave of Xbox job cuts, which, the magazine says, laid off a reported 136 developers from id Software. That 136 figure is reported, not an official headcount published in the article as a first-party Microsoft total.
Co-founders named in the piece include engine programmer Dustin Land, executive producer Andrew Willis, and tools programmer Johnmichael Quinlin. Land is quoted saying the team realized that "what made that experience special wasn't just the projects we worked on; it was the people we worked with." Willis said employee ownership means people "share in its success and have a commitment to it beyond just another job."
Quinlin said the group wants to "invite those players along for the journey from the very beginning."
The first game: Danger Pay
Hidden Horses is planning a Kickstarter campaign to help fund its first project, PC Gamer says: a single-player arena shooter called Danger Pay. The magazine describes the concept as a televised, ultraviolent game show inspired by the 1987 film The Running Man and the 1990 game Smash TV.
A Kickstarter is planned, not already dated in the coverage cited here. There is no release window in PC Gamer's report.
This is a new studio story, separate from this week's PlayStation news that [Sony has cancelled Fairgames](/blog/sony-cancels-fairgames-haven-studios) while keeping Haven Studios open.
The takeaway
According to PC Gamer, about 20 former id Software developers have started Hidden Horses as an employee-owned studio and are planning a Kickstarter for a single-player arena shooter named Danger Pay. The Microsoft layoff figure associated with id is reported as 136 people in July 2026; treat that as reported, and treat the Kickstarter as planned rather than already live.
Cover image: The Dallas skyline, photographed by david.nahas. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The photo is a North Texas city view, not an official Hidden Horses or id Software image.
Key facts
- Studio
- Hidden Horses, employee-owned, per PC Gamer
- Team
- Approximately 20 former id Software developers
- First game
- Danger Pay, a single-player arena shooter, Kickstarter planned
- Named co-founders
- Dustin Land, Andrew Willis, and Johnmichael Quinlin
- July 2026 cuts
- A reported 136 people at id Software, per PC Gamer