DA
06-25-2009, 12:04 PM
After eighteen years as an independent studio, id Software has been acquired by Bethesda's parent corporation ZeniMax. John Carmack explained the deal to Kotaku, saying that it had a great deal to do with how well id fit in with big publishers.
"As we were shopping Rage and Doom and upcoming stuff, talking about all of that, we were getting a pretty consistent line from all the publishers," he said.
"They were willing to continue to fund our working with partner companies for all of these but pretty much ever publisher said, 'Well, it would be worth much more to us if you would grow your studio and do more of your own work internally.' That's why we already started to staff up to do Doom 4 internally. So things were already moving in that direction."
Carmack also talked about id's relationship with Activision, saying that there was a time when they were the publisher's designated "shooter shop." But with Infinity Ward and Treyarch in the mix, "there's a very real conflict" concerning where Activsion wants to put its resources.
The conflict has resulted in id seeking partnerships with other publishers, such as rival Electronic Arts. It was revealed at E3 2008 that EA would be publishing id's upcoming Rage.
As for their new relationship with Zenimax, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said, "Things aren't really going to be different in terms of what's going on at id."
"We're not going to change the kinds of games we make... It allows us to accelerate the growth of our internal studios, so we can focus on making all of our internal games as opposed to working with external partners where there has been a step down in quality? There will be more, better games from id. So if you're a fan of the company, then it is all upside and all things to look forward to."
And the possibility of an id-Bethesda crossover title?
"The teams are very much separate. There is a lot of mutual respect there. There's going to be a lot of communication and cross-pollination. I doubt there's going to be any technology shifts between the two companies, but there's certainly going to be cooperation."
"And I wouldn't be shocked to see some hints of different things crossing over in different ways. That's just the kind of stuff when you have lots of people who think everybody is working on cool stuff together."
"As we were shopping Rage and Doom and upcoming stuff, talking about all of that, we were getting a pretty consistent line from all the publishers," he said.
"They were willing to continue to fund our working with partner companies for all of these but pretty much ever publisher said, 'Well, it would be worth much more to us if you would grow your studio and do more of your own work internally.' That's why we already started to staff up to do Doom 4 internally. So things were already moving in that direction."
Carmack also talked about id's relationship with Activision, saying that there was a time when they were the publisher's designated "shooter shop." But with Infinity Ward and Treyarch in the mix, "there's a very real conflict" concerning where Activsion wants to put its resources.
The conflict has resulted in id seeking partnerships with other publishers, such as rival Electronic Arts. It was revealed at E3 2008 that EA would be publishing id's upcoming Rage.
As for their new relationship with Zenimax, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said, "Things aren't really going to be different in terms of what's going on at id."
"We're not going to change the kinds of games we make... It allows us to accelerate the growth of our internal studios, so we can focus on making all of our internal games as opposed to working with external partners where there has been a step down in quality? There will be more, better games from id. So if you're a fan of the company, then it is all upside and all things to look forward to."
And the possibility of an id-Bethesda crossover title?
"The teams are very much separate. There is a lot of mutual respect there. There's going to be a lot of communication and cross-pollination. I doubt there's going to be any technology shifts between the two companies, but there's certainly going to be cooperation."
"And I wouldn't be shocked to see some hints of different things crossing over in different ways. That's just the kind of stuff when you have lots of people who think everybody is working on cool stuff together."