Co-founder of id Software and game development veteran John Carmack resigns

Veteran game designer and co-founder of id Software, John Carmack, has left the company. Carmack did this so he could better focus his attention full-time working on the Oculus Rift. If the press statement is anything to go by, the studio and Carmack seem to have parted under amicable terms.

“I wanted to remain a technical adviser for Id, but it just didn’t work out,” Carmack wrote on Twitter. “Probably for the best, as the divided focus was challenging.”

Carmack was influential in defining the FPS genre

“John Carmack, who has become interested in focusing on things other than game development at id, has resigned from the studio,” reads a statement from Tim Willits, studio director at id Software. “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.”

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Carmack’s claim to fame was a quaint little game in the early days of PC gaming called Doom, which essentially defined the first person shooter genre. As time went on, Carmack went on to work on games like Doom 2 and Quake. The most recent title released by id Software with Carmack involved was Rage in 2011. The studio is supposedly working on Doom 4, but it doesn’t have a release date yet.