John Carmack makes first appearance at QuakeCon in over a decade
Carmack went through legal issues with ZeniMax and Bethesda that kept him away from events like QuakeCon for years.
QuakeCon 2023 returned in physical form this last weekend. However, one thing that was entirely unexpected was the presence of John Carmack, id Software alumni and one of the key programmers on the Quake franchise. Carmack had been away from QuakeCon for years after a falling out and legal issues when id Software was acquired by Bethesda, but this year he made his return and even participated in the event with an impromptu meet-and-greet.
Carmack shared word of his participation in QuakeCon via his personal Twitter over the weekend.
“My first QuakeCon in a decade! I’m so happy that everything is cool now and I am welcome,” Carmack wrote. “I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with a post-COVID, no general admission event, but the BYOC was packed, and the energy was high even on day 3.”
John Carmack went on to share that as he was being greeted by fans, QuakeCon staff also took notice of the matter and quickly helped create a line queue for meeting, take pictures with, and getting autographs from Carmack.
Source: John Carmack
John Carmack and QuakeCon were separated as his relationship with id Software soured following its acquisition by Bethesda and ZeniMax. Carmack would eventually leave id Software for Oculus, claiming that ZeniMax would not let games he had been designing appear on Oculus VR headsets. ZeniMax would eventually sue Oculus, claiming Oculus stole its virtual reality IP. Carmack was eventually found not to be liable in the lawsuit, but he would sue ZeniMax in turn for $22.5 million USD. Carmack claimed the sum was owed, but not paid to him when ZeniMax acquired id Software. The two would eventually settle out of court.
It's nice to see that times have healed wounds enough for Carmack to be back at QuakeCon and taking part in the festivities. John Romero has also been active, and though Carmack claims he and Romero are not doing anything new in gaming right now, at least friendly conversations are happening again. Stay tuned for more coverage as new updates drop.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, John Carmack makes first appearance at QuakeCon in over a decade
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It was awesome. He let people come talk with him a bit and take their picture. I was in the line early so I didn't wait long. I thanked him for creating the games that literally changed my life forever as a teenager. He was very humble and appreciative. Really cool of him to take some time and just talk with people
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