The maker of the popular Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchised has purchased id Software. The cost was not revealed to the public. Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, is privately owned. This deal means that the software developer will own the rights to all of id’s properties, which are mainly First-Person Shooters.
id Software are the creators of world-renowned games such as Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, and its upcoming title, Rage. As the company put it in a statement: “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.”
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.”
