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John Carmack Officially Exits id Software

Initially intending to do double duty with id and Oculus VR, the legendary programmer has decided not to split his time any longer.

A young John Carmack in his natural environment.
A young John Carmack in his natural environment.

Perhaps it was inevitable, but it's still a strange thing to type: John Carmack has officially left id Software. He will now be working full-time at Oculus VR, working on the company's virtual gaming headset.

The news broke via a report from IGN, and was swiftly confirmed by Carmack on his twitter feed.

"I wanted to remain a technical adviser for Id, but it just didn't work out," he wrote. "Probably for the best, as the divided focus was challenging."

"John Carmack, who has become interested in focusing on things other than game development at id, has resigned from the studio," said id Studio Director Tim Willits to IGN. "John's work on id Tech 5 and the technology for the current development work at id is complete, and his departure will not affect any current projects. We are fortunate to have a brilliant group of programmers at id who worked with John and will carry on id's tradition of making great games with cutting-edge technology. As colleagues of John for many years, we wish him well."

Carmack, who co-founded id Software in 1991 alongside Tom Hall and John Romero, had been the mastermind behind the developer's various game engines, from the early days of Doom and Quake, up through the new id Tech 5 engine, which is expected to run the upcoming Doom 4.

Carmack took on a new role as Chief Technology Officer at Oculus VR back in August. The parent company of id, ZeniMax, initially released a statement acknowledging Carmack's new role, while assuring that "the technical leadership he provides for games in development at id Software is unaffected."

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107 Comments

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crithon

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well, lets not pretend we didn't see this coming, after the lack of interest in Doom 3 engine.

Carkmack is STILL one of the most facinating and innovative people in video game industry.

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ICantBeStopped

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Edited By ICantBeStopped

@ikabubu said:

@deusx: I'm also not convinced that VR headsets will replace a screen as my primary method of enjoying media. It is neat, and I think Carmack sees this as a career challenge. Can't blame him. With smarts like that, he's probably looking to apply it somewhere. And if VR doesn't go anywhere, I'm sure Carmack will find something else. No biggie.

Have either of you tried one? I don't think VR will replace controller + screen for meat and potatoes gaming, but for different kinds of experiences, new types of games to be made, etc, I think VR has a stable future ahead of it now that the tech to do it is really here, and it's cheap. The Rift has a future as a gaming platform.

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Klarion18

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Edited By Klarion18

Man... End of an era indeed!

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FalcomAdol

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@l33t_haxor said:

Goddamn. End of an era.

EDIT: I guess its kind of a bummer that he's leaving with Rage as his last official id game. But whatever, looking forward to see what he does with the Oculus folks.

Nothing wrong with Rage. It's iD's best game. The problem wasn't Rage, it was that it came out at the same time as other post-apocalyptic games like Borderlands and Fallout 3, and was many years in development.

Technically proficient, fun to play, good mix of activities, quality shooting. There isn't any other iD game that is as complete as Rage is. The games they're best known for generally came when nothing like that existed in the space at the same price and business model.

I kind of hope that Bethesda can turn iD into a dev house that can generate games and release products on something like a normal timeline with equivalent quality.John's a genius programmer, he's not a genius manager, and he's not a genius game designer.

I guess it's time to see if John's the latest guy from iD circa Doom ][ to have zero success outside of iD.

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Vuud

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IT'S TIME FOR THE CHOSEN ONE TO RETURN

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The final part of the prophecy is complete, and soon the planets will align and our dark master shall return to the Earth!

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bybeach

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Edited By bybeach

I do not think the Oculus rift has any kind of significant consumer market right now. Maybe not for a long while, perhaps if ever. But it will be there, and it will have applications. Possibly serious and interesting ones.

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Beaudacious

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Maybe Id Software will now finally make an interesting game ?

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vaiz

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Edited By vaiz

Does... does this mean no more three hour long Quakecon keynotes?

I'm not sure I want to live in that world.

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TaunT

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Now he works for Oculus.

And John Romero works at my University and makes mobile games.

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KillEm_Dafoe

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Wow, this is huge. It's not surprising, but it is kinda sad. John being at id was like the last big tie to that amazing golden age of gaming they were such a huge part of.

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KaneRobot

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Edited By KaneRobot

Made good tech, can't say as much for most of his games over the last 10-15 years. He'll be of better use with the Rift team.

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DisAbiLityFisHy

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rip in peace id

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aleryn

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Edited By aleryn

It's sad but I'd rather see him gracefully move on than wither in a position he's no longer invested. I salute him for being true to what I value most in game performance, Frames Per Second.

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mrcraggle

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iD haven't been relevant for over a decade with only a handful of releases with Doom 3 and Rage only being their newest titles and everything else a remake or re-release. Carmack is better off at somewhere like Oculus where his years of programming experience will be of value.

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arch4non

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I am so excited, Carmack has always been an engine guy so having him work on VR as it begins to step into the mainstream will ensure the choices made now will pay off in the long run.

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Dizzyhippos

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I went back and watched brads interview with him from a few e3's ago, man I feel stupid

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ultrapeanut

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@ikabubu: Yeah, I don't see how VR isn't at least as successful as driving/flying peripherals once it's remotely affordable and has software that takes advantage of it. It doesn't need to be everything to everyone, it just has to offer interesting experiences people can't get elsewhere. And people who make software, in general, seem pretty excited about the possibilities.

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grendelpierat

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Expectations for for 2014: John Carmack in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace

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Heath

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Edited By Heath

so I guess its time to accept a 3d future?

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h0lgr

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Edited By h0lgr
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Lukas

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Edited By Lukas

@deusx: Personally I think VR never took of in the retail sector for reasons of technical limitation. The things were bulky, low res and even the low-end ones quite expensive. Now with 4k cellphone displays on the horizon and a price point around what a normal monitor costs I find them much more appealing. Games aside use cases like interactive 3D movies weren't even thinkable on those old 320x200 screens.

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deactivated-6109c8479bb3d

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@icantbestopped: Sadly, no, I haven't had the chance to get my hands on the Oculus. I'm sure it's mind-blowing, and I didn't mean to make it sound as if I'm belittling its potential. My primary statement was: Carmack wants to tackle a challenge. It's a good thing that he's decided to work on VR, because it's been dormant for so long.

But, yes, I can imagine VR's potential being new ways to enjoy what we already love... as long as Carmack keeps hammering at it.

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Oni

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@oni said:

RIP id Software.

I thought we were supposed to say that when RAGE came out.

That's fair. RAGE is not a good game. But at least it had the tech to set it apart. Without Carmack, what is id but a mediocre developer coasting on past glory?

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striderno9

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I really hope the Oculus hardware makes it to consoles but I also hope –even more so that we have one kit for both consoles.

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Sooty

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Edited By Sooty

This isn't really a big deal. id haven't been relevant for a long time. Carmack's last few games were Doom 3, Quake 4 and Rage? Woop. Kind of a Knack for mediocre post-Quake III.

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ChernobylCow

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There goes Brad's hero....watch him as he goes...

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divergence

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Edited By divergence

@tajasaurus: no. just no.

uh woah look at those monitors.

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Ironhammer

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Doom was the most important game he made. He gave birth to the First-person Shooter and changed the face of the gaming world in the early 90's. I'm sad he wasn't able to keep id in the spotlight, but I'm thankful for his contributions to video games.

I'll never forget playing Doom as teen and trying to get multiplayer running on a null-modem cable through my PC's serial port. Eventually got it working across dial-up modem and local IPX network, but it was years after its release.

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WhiteForestParkRangr

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@sooty said:

This isn't really a big deal. id haven't been relevant for a long time. Carmack's last few games were Doom 3, Quake 4 and Rage? Woop. Kind of a Knack for mediocre post-Quake III.

Carmack was not creative lead on any of id's games. He was technical director and programmer, with occasional creative inputs and insights based on his vast technical knowledge.

Whether id Software games either succeeded or failed as actual video-games (and not technical showpieces) was not really up to him.

Also, Quake 4 was Raven Software.

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jakob187

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Edited By jakob187

WHAAAAAAAAAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUCK IS GOING ON?!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THIS CAN'T ACTUALLY HAPPEN, CAN IT?!

GODDAMMIT, CARMACK! WE NEEEEEEEEEED YOU! DO NOT LET ID FALL TO THE HANDS OF BETHESDA LIKE THIS!

NOT...LIKE...THIS!

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psykhophear

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Edited By psykhophear

@deadpan said:

Save us John Romero

Your our only hope!

John Romero hasn't made a single FPS game since Daikatana, nor has he made any groundbreaking, cutting-edge technology in recent years; so I don't see how him coming back to id or do anything will change anything.

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fattony12000

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/salute

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development

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This just feels like the perfect project for Carmack. VR was on everyone's mind in the '90s, I think moreso than now. It's kind of like him keeping the "dream of the '90s" alive in a totally real way.

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MormonWarrior

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Wait, that's what John Carmack looks like? I guess I always conflated him and Romero.

Weird. What an odd looking guy.

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namesonkel

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This is a change. I wonder where it will lead things, both for Id and VR hard- and software.

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filemon204

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JOHN CARMACK IS ABOUT TO MAKE YOU HIS B*****

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datarez

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He's still splitting his time between Occulus and Armadillo though, right?

I think Armadillo had mostly been spun down after they fell so far behind SpaceX and Orbital a few years ago. I think they still do projects but only part time.

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Sylect

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woooooooooooooooow

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drace

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Edited By drace

I would like to see a Vh1 Behind the Music-esque special on id Software or Carmack's career. I'm looking at you @patrickklepek @alex and @drewbert

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Gentlecat

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I hope he'll continue to give talks at QuakeCon.

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Thiefsie

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Oculus staying as a somewhat open source platform with Carmack at the lead can only be one of the best hardware developments in gaming since the 3D card....

Bring on the near future!

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selbie

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What if, when I put on the Oculus....I BECOME John Carmack, and we are integrated into his distributed computing consciousness.....thus enabling his ascension to become protector of the earth.

Either that or he makes a really good pair of VR goggles.

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LegendaryChopChop

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This totally makes sense. I don't really know the last time Carmack was really into id, rather than just sticking with it. His heart was elsewhere for a long time. Hopefully he'll make some real progress going into this Oculus world ahead of us.

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Humanity

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@sooty said:

This isn't really a big deal. id haven't been relevant for a long time. Carmack's last few games were Doom 3, Quake 4 and Rage? Woop. Kind of a Knack for mediocre post-Quake III.

Carmack was not creative lead on any of id's games. He was technical director and programmer, with occasional creative inputs and insights based on his vast technical knowledge.

Whether id Software games either succeeded or failed as actual video-games (and not technical showpieces) was not really up to him.

Also, Quake 4 was Raven Software.

Well the way the engine worked in Rage was kind of a travesty. I mean all the best intentions I'm sure - but I'm playing it now during the free Steam weekend and the textures continuously unloading and loading back in make for an unnerving experience. Not to mention that I had to scrounge around the internet to find custom .cfg modifications to make it run properly - hooray for pc gaming and all that.

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vigorousjammer

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@selbie said:

What if, when I put on the Oculus....I BECOME John Carmack

That's it. I now want a parody film to be made called "Being John Carmack"

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Vrikk

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Edited By Vrikk

id has been dead for a long time now. They take 5 years or more to make a game, and it inevitably is pretty but boring and tedious.

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ripelivejam

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@psykhophear: i think you're downplaying the power of DAT HAIR

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WickedCobra03

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I still have not played Rage and really do want to seeing that I bought it for like $15 this year. This just seems silly. I almost feel like John Carmack can't quit. I mean he can, but I just never thought of it as a possibility. When is the next doom coming out, and now it will be without Carmack? Now that sounds even weirder.

Good luck, and Brad, keep getting those interviews. I love them!

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EJ

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I hope he'll continue to give talks at QuakeCon.

I passionately second this! Or at the very least, that he continues some sort of yearly keynote.