John Carmack was the visionary game designer behind some of the biggest franchises in history. Doom and Quake were both designed by id Software during his tenure. Carmack took on the position of CTO for 3D virtual reality startup Oculus VR a few months ago, but at the time id said his work there would continue. However, today it was announced that Carmack is severing ties with the company he founded to focus entirely on the Oculus Rift.
Carmack co-founded id Software in 1991 alongside Tom Hall, John Romero, and Adrian Carmack. He is also the last of the founders to officially leave the company, which was acquired by Bethesda Softworks several years ago. In a statement announcing Carmack’s official departure from id, the company said his decision to leave won’t affect any current projects.
Indeed, Carmack said on Twitter that he had wanted to remain an advisor to id, but he simply didn’t have the time with his duties at Oculus VR. The statements from Bethesda and Carmack both seem painfully polite. There was likely some friction with the Bethesda software machine, which has a different culture than the startup-minded id Software.
The Oculus Rift is currently available as a $300 developer kit from the company’s website. The consumer version of the Rift is expected to debut in the not too distant future with a higher-resolution screen and lighter frame. The final version will support Android in addition to desktops.
Carmack leaving id is the end of an era, but maybe Oculus VR is the beginning of another one.
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