Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Media Aquires id software

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Blood of Nightmares
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Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Media Aquires id software

Post by Blood of Nightmares »

http://www.bethsoft.com/id.htm
June 24, 2009 (Rockville, MD) – ZeniMax Media Inc., parent company of noted game publisher Bethesda Softworks, today announced it has completed the acquisition of legendary game studio, id Software, creators of world-renowned games such as DOOM, QUAKE, Wolfenstein, and its upcoming title, RAGE. The acquisition by ZeniMax Media joins together two of the finest, most respected videogame developers in the world, combining the first person shooter (FPS) expertise of id Software with acclaimed role playing game (RPG) developer Bethesda Game Studios – creators of the 2008 Game of the Year, Fallout 3, and the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Bethesda Softworks will publish the titles of id Software other than upcoming releases previously committed to other publishers.

Founded in 1991, id Software established itself as an industry leader with some of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed video games of all time. id Software created the original first-person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D, and subsequently set new standards in the genre with the blockbuster releases of its DOOM and QUAKE titles. In addition, id Software developed cutting edge, proprietary technology with the id Tech engine which powers many notable FPS titles, and continues to make great advances in game technology under the direction of John Carmack, one of the country’s technology leaders and a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame.

Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, commented on the transaction: “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 Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack. No changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games. All the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles developing games at 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.”

Robert Altman, the founder, Chairman & CEO of ZeniMax Media stated, “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.”

ZeniMax Media Inc, which is privately held, was founded in 1999 to create quality interactive entertainment products to meet the growing worldwide demand. The Company is headquartered in Rockville, MD and maintains offices in Hunt Valley, MD, London and Tokyo. Among its wholly owned subsidiaries are Bethesda Softworks, a premier publisher of video games, Vir2L Studios which develops games for the casual market, and ZeniMax Online Studios, a studio dedicated to massively multi-player online games (MMOG).

Bethesda Game Studios, the development group at ZeniMax Media, is one of the top video game studios in the world. Its most recent release, Fallout 3, was the 2008 winner of more than 60 Game of the Year awards, including The Associated Press, Official Xbox Magazine, Yahoo, PC Gamer, IGN, Game Critics Awards, Game Developer Choice Awards, and Gamespy. Bethesda also created the 2006 PC and Xbox 360® Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the 2002 PC and Xbox® Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Game Studios has created 2 of the 10 best games of all time, Fallout 3 and Oblivion, on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation® 3 platforms, as reported by the industry scoring system found at http://www.metacritic.com and http://www.gamerankings.com.
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BEAST
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Post by BEAST »

:D That means Bethesda will start developing Heretic / Hexen first-person RPGs! Heretic meets Elder Scrolls! Excellent!
:) Anyway, it's a very unexpected move, but it would be interesting if Bethesda started doing Elder Scrolls styled games set in the Doom, Quake (first Quake), or Heretic / Hexen universe. I'm not saying that they may actually do it, or if they would be any good (Bethesda's writers are known for being convoluted, or simplistic in their writing, in their recent games anyway), but it is a interesting idea.
Come to think of it, it wouldn't be a bad idea for us, the Transfusion followers, to consider a Morrowind styled Blood game for Dark Places once we've finished Transfusion. (Or a Blood mod for Morrowind, possibly?) :wink:
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I Live...AGAIN
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Post by I Live...AGAIN »

I'm glad it wasn't EA who seems to try to gobble up everything like Microsoft.
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Slink

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Post by Slink »

I Live...AGAIN wrote:I'm glad it wasn't EA who seems to try to gobble up everything like Microsoft.
Agreed.
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Ransu
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Post by Ransu »

Man, I never really thought this would happen. id Software is my favorite game company because they created Doom and other great games. They pretty much started the first-person shooter genre and showed what a gaming machine the PC can be. John Carmack is still in the same position at least and he seems fine with this. I just hope he's right about it being a good thing.
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I Live...AGAIN
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Post by I Live...AGAIN »

I read an interview with John Carmack where he says EA and Activision were also looking at them....whew!
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Slink

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Post by Slink »

I Live...AGAIN wrote:I read an interview with John Carmack where he says EA and Activision were also looking at them....whew!
LOL dodged that bullet...
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Tchernobog
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Post by Tchernobog »

As long as they continue to support Linux, I don't really care. If not, I will have to go Caleb on them... :shooting:
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Tchernobog
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Post by Tchernobog »

Tchernobog wrote:As long as they continue to support Linux, I don't really care. If not, I will have to go Caleb on them... :shooting:
And it looks like they will, a quote from id Software's Timothee Besset:
I'll be damned if we don't find the time to get Linux builds done.
Learning more about this whole publishing thing, I am of the opinion id has done the right thing. They were sick and tired of being harassed by the big guys, so they joined forces with a publisher small/desperate enough to let them do what they want. So far id has not lost anything as far as I can tell in terms of creative freedom, so I am not going to complain. It might just be, as Zenimax stated, a "win-win for fans of id".
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Corbin
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Post by Corbin »

I agree. It was a good thing id got bought out.
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