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Reactions: ZeniMax Media Buys id Software

Creators of such wonderful FPSes as Doom, Wolfenstein, and the yet to be released Rage, id Software, were purchased by the parent company of Bethesda Softworks (creators of such wonderful RPGs as Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), ZeniMax Media.

Why did id, one of the last independent developers out there, decide to sell to ZeniMax? Apparently they were having some trouble with today’s big publishers. John Carmack, in an interview with Kotaku said “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. 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.”

Activision, who are publishing their upcoming Wolfenstein game, was mentioned specifically. In the same interview with Kotaku, Carmack said “Going back to a much earlier time we were just Activision’s shooter shop. We did the FPSes there. There was no conflict, and that was great. But they brought on their own internal studios and there’s a very real conflict there between whether they want to put resources behind something they own the IP for and derive all the profit for versus something where they don’t own the IP and they might feel like any effort they’re putting into it isn’t going into their value but somebody else’s. That problem has grown over the years as budgets have increased.”

So why did id choose ZeniMax as their publisher of choice? id CEO, Todd Hollenshead, found that ZeniMax was the publisher that lined up best with their own philosophy on how games should be made.

Current id properties like Doom, Rage and Wolfenstein all transfer over to ZeniMax as well, but the Rage and Wolfenstein games currently under development will still be published by EA and Activision respectively. However, any future games made in those series will be published by ZeniMax.

Ultimately, this merger is meant to make id a better developer. “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 ZeniMax seems to be on board with that idea as well. In a press release, ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman said “We, along with many others, consider id Software to be among the finest game studios in the world, with extraordinary design, artistic and technical capabilities. They have demonstrated, repeatedly, that rare ability to create franchise properties that are critical and commercial successes. 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.”

It’s a bit sad to see another independent developer get gobbled up by a publisher, but it’s also nice to know that id will be able to produce more, better quality games. Here’s hoping for an awesome RPG/FPS hybrid cross-over game from Bethesda and id.

Author: Ryan

Tags: bethesda softworks, doom, fallout 3, id software, oblivion, rage, wolfenstein, zenimax media