ZeniMax Media (Bethesda) Acquires id Software

[AgtFox]

Wow, this was an odd and surprising e-mail to get recently. ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda, has acquired id Software. Nothing much will change at id Software since it will continue to control its own fate, but now its games will be published by Bethesda outside of the ones already tied to other publishers (RAGE tied to EA for instance).

Here is a part of the PR with the rest in the next post:

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 is pretty big news, didn't even know this was being talked about. Was I living under a rock when this was rumored?

[UPDATE] John Carmack and Todd Hollinshead spoke to Kotaku about the reasons behind the deal:

"We're really getting kind of tired competing with our own publishers in terms of how our titles will be featured," Carmack said. "And we've really gotten more IPs than we've been able to take advantage of. And working with other companies hasn't been working out as spectacularly as it could. So the idea of actually becoming a publisher and merging Bethesda and ZeniMax on there [is ideal.] It would be hard to imagine a more complementary relationship. They are triple A, top-of-the-line in what they do in the RPGs. And they have no overlap with all the things we do in the FPSes."

[AgtFox]

Full PR:

ZeniMax Media Acquires id Software

Brings together two of world’s best game studios

Library of powerhouse franchises will include DOOM, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls,
QUAKE, Wolfenstein and RAGE

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 www.metacritic.com and www.gamerankings.com.

[total]

Holy shit.

[torrefaction]

That's wild. Especially since I'm not sure there WAS a rumor.

[AgtFox]

Originally Posted by torrefaction

That's wild. Especially since I'm not sure there WAS a rumor.

I didn't think so either, that's why I was asking because stuff does fall through the cracks with me sometimes.

[Crowe]

Elder Scrolls with ID tech, nice!

[divinechaos]

I know they said that nothing will change and nothing should change but... I don't know what to think. This is so sudden!

[mister slim]

Better ZeniMax than Activision.

[shunoshi]

Wow, this is pretty big news. Surprising that there wasn't a peep about this at any point. Someone knows how to keep a secret.

I think this could be a good thing for both companies.

[bapenguin]

Sweet. I can see this being very beneficial for both companies.

[Crowe]

Originally Posted by mister slim

Better ZeniMax than Activision.

Don't get too excited, soon we might have ActiMax Blizzard.

[DoctorFinger]

Wow. This came out of nowhere. I hadn't heard word one about this until just now.

[Telefrog]

Wow. That's nuts.

Of course, Bethesda has been publishing other development houses games for years. Most of them have been... *Ahem* Less high budget titles.

[Deadend]

Oh cool, so now Bethsada has a company with tech skill and a great engine, and now Id has a publisher who understands making content to fill engines.

This means no more Gamebryo engine for Elder Scrolls 5 I hope.

[Hawkzombie]

I hope they merge ideas. Then we can finally get Diakatana, Fallout 3 style!!

WITH NO SAVES!

[RandoM51]

Wonder why id was up for sale? Did they take a bath on the doom3 tech since that engine never really caught on?

id engines wouldn't be my first choice for the wide open vistas of an Elder Scrolls game. Perhaps their new engine is much better at that than previous ones.

[Spectre-7]

Originally Posted by Hawkzombie

I hope they merge ideas. Then we can finally get Diakatana, Fallout 3 style!!

WITH NO SAVES!

Yes, because John Romero totally still works at id, and never left to form Ion Storm or anything like that.

[Hawkzombie]

Originally Posted by Spectre-7

Yes, because John Romero totally still works at id, and never left to form Ion Storm or anything like that.

It was a joke.

Not a GOOD joke, mind you, but ya know.

[Spectre-7]

Originally Posted by Hawkzombie

It was a joke.

I got that. It was a bad one.

Edit: Aww crap, ninja edit. *wags fist*

[Hawkzombie]

Originally Posted by Spectre-7

I got that. It was a bad one.

Edit: Aww crap, ninja edit. *wags fist*

Ha!

Still, hopefully they DO take advantage of one another to improve their games. I'd love to see a few id properties make use of a few of the concepts presented in games like Oblivion and FO3, and I'd love to see some better FPS aspects make their way into those types of games as well. This could, hopefully, be a good thing all around.