ZeniMax Media Acquires Id Software

ZeniMax Media, the Rockville-based parent company of videogame publisher Bethesda Softworks, announced today that it has acquired game development studio Id Software.

Id is famous among gamers as the Texas-based studio behind bestselling action videogame franchises like Doom and Quake. Bethesda Softworks, meanwhile, is known for games such as last year's blockbuster hit Fallout 3.

"Our role will be to provide publisher support through Bethesda Softworks and give id Software the resources it needs to grow and expand," said ZeniMax chairman and chief executive Robert Altman, in a statement.

The move is just the latest expansion by the privately-owned local company, which happens features boldface names like Jerry Bruckheimer and Cal Ripken, Jr. on its board of directors. Two years ago, ZeniMax announced that it was opening a new game studio in Hunt Valley with the aim of creating an online game in the same genre as the popular computer title World of Warcraft.

Id is a legendary game company, said Edward Wu, an industry analyst at Wedbush Morgan, "But it seems that they lost some of their momentum to other companies in recent years and that may have prompted them to do the merger."

Consolidation in the videogame industry is certainly nothing new: Over the last several years, many local game development studios have been snapped up by major publishers like Electronic Arts.

By Mike Musgrove  |  June 24, 2009; 1:08 PM ET  | Category:  Mike Musgrove
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