id Software acquired by Bethesda parent company ZeniMax

Posted Jun 24, 2009 at 6:13AM EST by Karl B.

Listed in: PS3, Xbox 360, PC Gaming Tags: Bethesda, Bethesda Softworks, id Software, John Carmack, playstation 3 updates, PlayStation Network, ZeniMax

Rage - Image 1

Doom and Rage (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) developer id Software has joined Bethesda Softworks under the wings of new parent company ZeniMax. A press release announcing the acquisition of the former by the latter has just been released.

According to the announcement, id will continue to operate as a studio without any interference from ZeniMax. The acquisition also cuts down on any need for the studio to adhere to publishing deals, something id founder John Carmack has been critical of.

Speaking to Kotaku, Carmack explained that part of the reason that id agreed to the acquisition was that they were getting tied of publisher deals:

We're really getting kind of tired competing with our own publishers in terms of how our titles will be featured. And we've really gotten more IPs than we've been able to take advantage of. And working with other companies hasn't been working out as spectacularly as it could. So the idea of actually becoming a publisher and merging Bethesda and ZeniMax on there [is ideal].

Todd Hollenshead, id's CEO, had the following to say about the acquisition:

This was a unique opportunity to team with a smart, sophisticated publisher like Bethesda Softworks where the interests of the studio and the publisher will be fully aligned in the development and marketing of our titles. In addition, we will now have financial and business resources to support the future growth of id Software, a huge advantage which will result in more and even better games for our fans

id co-founder John Romero, on the other hand, isn't too happy about it, judging by his Twitter entries.

id Software: Rage not ready this year *UPDATE* with new screenshots

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...So now, id not only hardly ever makes games, ...but they also know how to 'sell out'. --Good one. :-O

Sounds like Rage has probably got a long way to go yet, and they needed a cash infusion. It's probably a raw deal for Bethesda, really: if id can stand by their "it'll be finished when it's finished" motto, while syphoning cash off of the parent company.

QJ: Care to elaborate on what exactly is meant by "...cuts down on any need for the studio to adhere to publishing deals.."? Even though id was independent before, did they have to make some sort of concessions regarding which platform to publish to, in order to get a publishing contract?

# thats cool. — NarooN 2009-06-24 11:41

Now, id just has to release Doom and Quake on the store, and I'll be happy.

# damonous — Guest 2009-06-24 12:29

I've edited the article to include Carmack's explanation of the acquisition. He didn't exactly elaborate on what deals they were forced into though.

Incidentally, John Romero thinks id is selling out too:

http://twitter.com/theromero

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id Software acquired by Bethesda parent company ZeniMax

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