Carmack explains why he left id Software

5 February 2014
John Carmack at GDC

Speaking during an interview with USA Today, John Carmack explained why he left id Software, the company he co-founded, to join up with Oculus VR, a company pioneering virtual reality gaming headsets.

The bottom line: id Software parent company ZeniMax Media would not allow id Software games to be integrated with the Oculus Rift support.

Carmack was keen to bring titles such as the Wolfenstein: The New Order and the inevitable Doom 4 to the Oculus Rift.

“I would have been content probably staying there working with the people and technology that I know and the work we were doing. But they couldn’t come together on that, which made me really sad. It was just unfortunate. When it became clear that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to do any work on VR while at id software, I decided to not renew my contract,” said Carmack.

John Carmack wearing an Oculus Rift prototype

John Carmack wearing an Oculus Rift prototype

Carmack joined the Oculus VR team back in August 2013, acting in the role of chief technology officer. He left id Software in November 2013.

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  1. Alex Rowley
    06.02.2014 at 23:39

    ‘the inevitable Doom 4’

    Someone’s being hopeful…

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