1996年，約翰·羅梅羅因與約翰·卡馬克的理念衝突被id Software開除;三十年後，這一事件竟成了保存該工作室早期歷史的關鍵。本周，微軟Xbox重組計劃波及id Software，約半數員工（多達95人）被裁，QA部門遭受重創。面對這一動盪，羅梅羅公開表示，他個人完整保存了從Softdisk時期至1996年8月6日id Software的全部早期歷史，包括源碼、設計文檔和原始素材。他直言：「據我所知，id內部可能已經不再擁有這些資料。」
I’m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs. I know what it feels like to leave id while id goes on. It’s a strange and painful thing to step away from a place that holds so much of your work, friendships and history. The people at id have done a great job moving that legacy forward. DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people. A note on digital preservation: id's history is critically important to the history of games. I’ve preserved id’s complete early history from our start at Softdisk through to August 6, 1996, including materials and assets that, as far as I know, id itself no longer has. I hope someone is doing the same for the company’s ongoing legacy (the work, code, assets, stories and the people behind them). I’m thinking of everyone at id today, and everyone else affected by yesterday’s layoffs. Romero Games was there a year ago. I know how devastating it is, and my heart's with all of you.
羅梅羅已安排在自己去世後將這批收藏捐贈給美國國家玩具博物館。他感慨道：「必須有人來保存這段歷史。」這一事件令人聯想到《異塵餘生》設計師蒂姆·凱恩曾被公司下令銷毀開發檔案的往事。企業重組不僅裁撤了崗位，更可能抹去遊戲誕生的原始脈絡。極具諷刺意味的是，當年被公司推開的羅梅羅，如今卻成了id Software早期歷史的唯一守護者。
