Carmack was "tired" of publisher deals
Acquisition sees id become own boss.
John Carmack has explained that key attraction of being acquired by Bethesda parent ZeniMax media was the opportunity to become a publisher and no longer battle for marketing budget.
"We're really getting kind of tired competing with our own publishers in terms of how our titles will be featured. 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]," the id Software star told Kotaku.
"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."
Bethesda announced the acquisition of id Software just moments ago. The Quake and Doom maker will remain largely untouched by the deal, retaining all key staff and working practises.
Crucially, development of Rage will continue as normal, with the added benefit of ZeniMax and Bethesda's support.
We'll find out much more when we jet off to QuakeCon in August.