ZeniMax Media – best known to gamers as the parent company of Bethesda Studios, developers of the Elder Scroll games and Fallout 3 – announced last Thursday that it acquired id Software, makers of the DOOM and Quake franchises.
According to the statement from ZeniMax, the day-to-day operations and development processes of id Software will not be affected and “all the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts”.
“This puts id Software in a wonderful position going forward,” said John Carmack, founder and technical director of id Software. “We will be bigger and stronger, as we recruit the best talent to help us build the landmark games of the future.”
Not everyone was impressed with the announcement. id Software co-founder John Romero, who left in 1996 to start the ill-fated Ion Storm game development studio initially declared on Twitter: “ZENIMAX??????? Disgusting.”
Romero later retracted his statements, saying that his intial reactions were “harsh”.
“I guess I was shocked and sad to see the id Software of old changed forever today. It’s a new day and a new id,” Romero said in a later Tweet.
The purchase price for the take-over was not revealed.
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