ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, has today acquired id Software, developers of such classic franchises as Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, and new property Rage. Before you get too worried: the deal was initiated by id.

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 will continue to operate under its renowned founder John Carmack, and ZeniMax states "no changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games"; all the main guys from the team have signed long-term contracts, meaning they will continue with their current development roles.

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.”

“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."

Both men spoke more frankly in an interview about the deal, with Carmack citing current publisher conflicts -- Rage is funded by Electronic Arts, and previously longtime partner Activision -- as one of the main reasons they're happy to be switching:

"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.] 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."

He later added: "We can build the pipeline and have a regular pipeline of releases."

Altman said the acquisition is a "win for fans of id."