ZeniMax (Bethesda) buys id

[Akala]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/06/bethesda-softworks-parent-zenimax-media-acquires-id-software.ars

In a somewhat surprise move today, Zenimax, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, has acquired id Software, famed developer of the Doom and Quake series of games. Both companies promise to maintain the status quo at id Software, with all the executives from the company signing long-term contracts to continue their roles with the studio.

“This puts id Software in a wonderful position going forward,” said John Carmack, who will continue to serve in his current role as Technical Director. “We will now be able to grow and extend all of our franchises under one roof, leveraging our capabilities across multiple teams while enabling forward looking research to be done in the service of all of them. We will be bigger and stronger, as we recruit the best talent to help us build the landmark games of the future. As trite as it may be for me to say that I am extremely pleased and excited about this deal, I am."

Zenimax is a private company, and now has Doom, Fallout, Quake, Oblivion, Rage, Wolfeinstein, and Brink in its stable of content. Robert Altman, the CEO of Zenimax, stated, "Our intention is to make sure id Software will continue to do what they do best—make AAA games. Our role will be to provide publisher support through Bethesda Softworks and give id Software the resources it needs to grow and expand.” The interesting bit? EA has already signed to publish Rage, leaving Zenimax with little to do when it comes to id's upcoming title.

While this news is surprising, both companies have sterling reputations in the gaming world, and if id had to be acquired, there were much worse places for it to go—no, we won't name names... We'll continue to follow this story and update with any new details as they emerge.

Holy shit, this could be the best news of forever if it pans out with sense!

Elder Scrolls V and Fallout 4 with id tech!

[duckman2000]

I bet Activision will swoop in and buy the whole thing

[Great Rumbler]

Wow, this really came out of nowhere.

[The Fake Shemp]

FALLOUT/QUAKE CROSSOVER YES!

[Great Rumbler]

FALLOUT/QUAKE CROSSOVER YES!

Personally, I'd settle for Fallout 4 with the id Tech 5 engine.

[Ellrick]

This is an odd acquisition on bethesda's part, but I am probably missing something they gotta know better than I do.

It just seems like ID is really only good for tech these days, and thats not a spot where bethesda needs any help, and doom and Quake are, sad to say, kinda irrelevant at this point.

Maybe they wanna ride on Carmack's rocket ship and laugh at his voice.

[Akala]

This is an odd acquisition on bethesda's part, but I am probably missing something they gotta know better than I do.

It just seems like ID is really only good for tech these days, and thats not a spot where bethesda needs any help, and doom and Quake are, sad to say, kinda irrelevant at this point.

Maybe they wanna ride on Carmack's rocket ship and laugh at his voice.

Umm

[Ellrick]

Bethesda games are great looking, wheres the problem?

[Joe Molotov]

So what happens to Splash Damage exactly? And what about Raven Software? Didn't they do a lot of their stuff with id?

Raven's developing the new Wolf game, I don't think that's going to change. Splash Damage is already working with Bethesda on a game. But it sounds like id is remaining intact and autonomous, so there's no need to worry.

[The Fake Shemp]

So they finally have some of the best engines around.

Won't make a fuck difference in their abysmal writing (dialogues + quests).

Hey, I think you're confused - it's BETHESDA, not BioWare!

[Disposable White Guy]

So they finally have some of the best engines around.

Won't make a fuck difference in their abysmal writing (dialogues + quests).

Agree 100%.  The Oblivion Gates bullshit was terrible.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

OH WAIT FUCK YOU

[close]

[The Fake Shemp]

[Bebpo]

This is a beautiful marriage.

ID games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bethesda games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now they can make dull repetitive games together!   

[Great Rumbler]

[Eel O'Brian]

This is a beautiful marriage.

ID games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bethesda games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now they can make dull repetitive games together!  

I think you're confusing id and bethesda with EVERY JAPANESE ROLE-PLAYING GAME EVER MADE

[Brehvolution]

Fallout 4 with Rage or Tech5 or whatever it's called.

[drew]

This is a beautiful marriage.

ID games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bethesda games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now they can make dull repetitive games together!   

anime avatar

[tiesto]

This is a beautiful marriage.

ID games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bethesda games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now they can make dull repetitive games together!  

I think you're confusing id and bethesda with EVERY JAPANESE ROLE-PLAYING GAME EVER MADE

At least the Japanese know how to design unique dungeons...

Fallout 3 was great but the dungeon design was repetitive and dull as all hell.

[BlueTsunami]

Is this a good thing? Holy shat. HOLY SHAT

In this modern age, id tech will actually be put to good use (assuming Fallout 3's successor uses Rage).

[demi]

This is a beautiful marriage.

ID games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bethesda games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now they can make dull repetitive games together!  

I think you're confusing id and bethesda with EVERY JAPANESE ROLE-PLAYING GAME EVER MADE

At least the Japanese know how to design unique dungeons...

Fallout 3 was great but the dungeon design was repetitive and dull as all hell.

Did you think Star Ocean 4 had unique dungeons? lol.

[maxy]

Gamasutra Carmak and Pete Hines interview,good stuff,some interesting things

How have your respective workforces reacted to the news? What do they think of the acquisition?

JC: We made a simultaneous announcement at Bethesda and at id. The first reaction was that everyone was a little bit shocked. The rumor mill wasn't terribly effective at informing anyone like this was going on, so many were caught flat-footed. ... After the announcement, I just heard from people over and over about how Fallout 3 was incredible and their favorite game of all time. And [Bethesda executive producer] Todd Howard told us of all the big id fans they have there at Bethesda. ...

Pete Hines: From Bethesda's side, there were a lot of jaws hitting the floor, a lot of "Holy shit". Everybody at our company views id the same. These guys are at the top of the industry in terms of what they have accomplished, and the amount of respect they've earned over the years.

...[id] has agreed to come up and show Rage next week to everybody at Bethesda, so everybody there can see it firsthand, because we heard amazing things about it. It's been a great meshing of cultures and personalities.

JC: We're going to take every opportunity to share our knowledge, hard-won wisdom of recent product cycles, anything we can share technology-wise, Bethesda is welcome to cherry pick. We already have slated our plans years ahead, so there aren't going to be any massive changes. We're not going to splice id Tech5 into anything Bethesda is doing. But anything they want to cherry pick, they're more than welcome to.
...
JC: There are also things that we want to learn from Bethesda -- the things they're doing with downloadable content, marketing, we want that to be applied on our behalf for our products. We don't want to say, "Leave us alone, we want to be exactly as we were before." We're going to do all the things we have been doing, but there are opportunities for us to improve as a result of this.
...
Any chance, and this could be out there, that somewhere down the line we could see a jointly-created game, or is it safe to assume products will be separate?

PH: I don't think so. They're building up their teams, and they already have four amazing brands they're working on. So they already have enough titles to work on that they own. On the flip side, Todd [Howard] and his team have their hands full with The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24211

 

[GilloD]

This is a beautiful marriage.

ID games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bethesda games these days = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now they can make dull repetitive games together!  

I think you're confusing id and bethesda with EVERY JAPANESE ROLE-PLAYING GAME EVER MADE

At least the Japanese know how to design unique dungeons...

Fallout 3 was great but the dungeon design was repetitive and dull as all hell.

What?

[chronovore]

I bet Carmack and crew are happy to not have to deal with a lot of publisher wrangling anymore. The whole "when it's done" philosophy wreaks havoc with them, because the sales and marketing department expect games to arrive with the same systematic predictability of steak or boxes of cookies.