id Software is an American video game developer founded in February 1991 by the former Gamer's Edge team at Softdisk (succeded by the later founders of JAM Productions), and are credited with popularizing the first-person shooter genre in the 1990s with Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, while often partnering with Raven Software. It was purchased by Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media in 2009, which became part of Microsoft in 2021. They had previously published through Apogee Software, FormGen Corporation, GT Interactive, and Activision, and had been signed on with Electronic Arts. Original founders John Romero and Tom Hall founded Ion Storm in 1996 (Hall having left for Apogee Software in 1993), while John Carmack stayed with the company until 2013 before leaving for Occulus VR (artist Adrian Carmack, no relation, left the company in 2005).
Games[]
- Hovertank 3D (1991)
- Catacomb 3D (1991)
- Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
- Wolfenstein 3D: The Nocturnal Missions (1992)
- Spear of Destiny (1992)
- Doom (1993)
- The Ultimate Doom (1994)
- Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)
- Master Levels for Doom II (1995)
- Quake (1996)
- Quake II (1997)
- Quake III Arena (1999)
An expansion pack called Quake III: Team Arena was released by id Software and Activision in 2000. They also produced Serpent Riders Trilogy by Raven Software.
Engines[]
- Wolfenstein 3D engine (id Tech 0)
- Doom engine (id Tech 1)
- Quake engine (id Tech 2, 3)