Why the id Software acquisition by ZeniMax matters to gamers everywhere
Sometime yesterday, it was announced that ZeniMax Media, parent company of Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks, had bought id Software, makers of FPS greats like Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein.
Legendary developer John Carmack believes the acquisition “puts id Software in a wonderful position going forward.” Apparently, no changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games.
But what does this news matter to the typical Wii-hating, HD console gamer?
Three things:
- First: Bethesda RPGs will finally have great visuals, thanks to some “cross-pollination” between id and Bethesda. If you recall, Fallout 3 and Oblivion were loaded with a variety of graphical bugs, some of which are amusing but the others are downright frustrating.
- More games from id Software. According to the developer, the acquisition speeds up the growth of its internal studios. Because of this, id can focus on making all of its internal games instead of working with external partners, which somehow brings down a game’s quality.
- Doom games won’t be run into the ground by Activision. Remember that Doom III was published by the universally-reviled Activision, so this deal saves the franchise from the clutches of CEO Bobby Kotick, who’s out to exploit any game with sequel potential. According to id, Doom 4 will be published by Bethesda. While Activision would still be publishing the upcoming Wolfenstein, subsequent id games will be handled by ZeniMax.
In a way, this news also makes up for Kotick’s shenanigans last week.
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June 25th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I think this is very positive news as well!
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June 25th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
I wonder if this news would really affect the frequency of id’s releases. The last major id game is Doom III (Quake Live doesn’t count), which came out last 2004.
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