Games legend id Software is taking advantage of the buyout by Bethesda-parent Zenimax by expanding its team to work on an unannounced new project.
The partnership brings together two of the most critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful studios of recent years, with a combined list of gaming franchises set to include DOOM, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, QUAKE, Wolfenstein and
RAGE
.
The gaming genius that is John Carmack has continued to push the envelope of PC gaming technology since the early days of Doom and Quake, with more recent developments such as his 'megatexture' tech really setting the standard for FPS action gaming.
Jaws hit floors
Carmack will continue to serve as Technical Director at id Software and Zenimax assures us that "all the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts."
So what, we asked Bethesda's VP of PR and Marketing, Pete Hines, was the feeling internally about the deal?
"There were a lot of jaws hitting the floor and more than a few "Holy *insert profanity*" when we told folks the news," joked Hines.
"Obviously, we're all thrilled to be working with a studio like id, whose games and reputation speak for themselves."
New team, new project
So what about specific new projects that gamers might soon see as a result of the deal?
"We expect id will keep doing what they've always been doing," adds Hines. "And that includes the projects they are already working on. They have a team working on RAGE, which will be published by EA next year, and they have a second team working on DOOM 4."
Tantalisingly, Hines adds: "They'd like to start building up a full third team and, as a result of this deal, they'll be able to do that more quickly than they could have previously with the additional resources they have to work with now."
You read it here first. Stay tuned for more info on id's secret new project as and when we get it straight from the horses' mouth.
id back on map
David Brown, Deputy Editor of PC Zone, noted that: "If we're looking at this in a positive light, we'd like to think id will benefit from improved financial support and so on.
"There are the obvious questions to raise about how much creative freedom they'll have, and there's always the fear that they'll be closed in the near future, but for now we're going to remain positive and hope that the buy-out will just mean id can put themselves back on the map."
Check out each studios websites for more on each company over at idsoftware.com and bethsoft.com
