id Software's CEO Todd Hollenshead took a little time to answer questions in a new interview on Gamasutra yesterday. The focus of the piece saw Hollenshead reinforce a simply fact: id Software's Tech 5 engine will be licensed out but that business will be secondary to the development of games like Rage and Doom 4.
"Our philosophy really hasn't changed from what it's always been, which is games first, licenses second," Hollenshead tells Gamasutra in a new interview. "Working on Rage and working on Doom [4], which are both id Tech 5 games, are certainly our top priorities."

The company first announced id Tech 5 in 2007, and claims it can seamlessly support multiple platforms -- with "90 percent" of game code working across PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It also features John Carmack's MegaTexture technology.
He goes on to say that "Our philosophy on that has been that we'd rather have a small number of good-fit, high-quality developer licensees than a bunch that aren't really good fits or that may not be that bright of a licensee anyway."

It's unlikely that either Rage or Doom 4 will release this year; keep your eyes on E3 2009 for a little Rage action.

Happy to see Rage features C.H.U.D.s.



Bryn says: id Software knows what it wants. Sure, Epic has licensed the hell out of its Unreal engines over the years, but I'm glad to hear that id is primarily concerned with making excellent original games.

Do you think Doom 4 will reinvent the shooter as we know it?