If you have yet to sign onto the internet or hear my fanboyish squealing from whatever corner of the globe you happen to populate, I won’t beat around the bush:

id Software and Bethesda Softworks are now under one roof. Now, if you will allow me to relish the news for just a moment:

…that was so damn satisfying…

But yes, ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls scribes, Bethesda Softworks, has purchased the longtime independent developer of Doom and Quake in a deal that may, indeed, punch a whole through the fabric of space and time.

The deal makes it so that Bethesda will publish all further id Software titles (sans Rage).

Now before you Doom people freak out, nothing is going to change at id as far as how the place operates is concerned. In fact, id Software will “continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack” and that “no changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games”. That’s what Bethesda says on the subject.

id CEO and one-half of the Todd & Todd Superhero Duo, Todd Hollenshead, pointed out that this was a golden opportunity for id Software to grow to new heights:

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 founder John Carmack, taking a moment away from skiing down giant piles of money* to talk to the media, shared similar sentiments:

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.

You aren’t the only one whose happy about this, I promise you that. id Software has been one of my favorite video game studios (hell, the first game I ever played was Wolfenstein 3D) since I was but a wee lad, sneaking off to my POS Gateway to play Doom. Bethesda Softworks has made what is arguably my favorite game of all time, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. So to see them together… it makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

via Gamasutra

*Apologies if “piles” is an understatement

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