RAGE Issues Have Some Wondering About DOOM 4

News
By
published

An unnamed source said that Zenimax and Bethesda put DOOM 4 on hold, but Bethesda's Pete Hines is denying the report.

Bethesda and parent company Zenimax have reportedly decided to put development of DOOM 4 on "indefinite hold" thanks to the disastrous launch of id Software's new shooter RAGE, and the new engine powering the post-apocalyptic game, id Tech 5. The news arrives by way of an unnamed source who said the decision was just made during a "company wide" meeting in Dallas.

The source adds that Zenimax and Bethesda made the decision to put the DOOM sequel on ice based on the obvious "issues and reviews" surrounding the launch of RAGE. More specifically, the unstable launch has reportedly demonstrated to Zenimax and Bethesda "a serious lack of confidence in the project management at id."

But naturally Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing at Bethesda, is denying the report, later stating that no game currently in development has been put on indefinite hold.

"We don't comment on unannounced games and DOOM 4 hasn't been announced (though I appreciate that id has previously referenced DOOM 4)," Hines said on Twiter. "Games are done when they are done and no title under development at id has been postponed – indefinitely or otherwise."

What has likely happened is that DOOM 4 was/is put on hold temporarily to iron out the bugs in the id Tech 5 engine first, but not "indefinitely." It's best to get the skeleton up and walking before you throw on the trench coat and hat.

id Software first talked about DOOM 4 back in 2008, and has mostly kept the details rather light since then. The studio has actually kept the sequel on the backburner all this time while it refined id Tech 5 and cranked out the current shooter and new IP, RAGE. Unfortunately, technical issues surrounding the new release have brought a negative light on the game despite its content -- not a good start for a completely new franchise since the launch of Quake back in 1996.

As of this writing, RAGE for the PC has a Metacritic score of 79-percent and a user score of 3.9 out of 10. "I registered an account here just to say how horridly id and Bethesda botched the PC port of Rage," reads one user review. "I have a system that is well above recommended specs with a very common ATI card and the texture draw in and framerate issues on launch are horrendous. How this game got out the door in this shape is a mystery to me, but now I would be curious to see it on my PS3."

RAGE on the Xbox 360 has a Metacritic score of 81 and the PlayStation 3 version has scored an 83.

Kevin Parrish
68 Comments Comment from the forums
  • house70
    I am not buying anything from iD anymore. Screw Carmack and his console-first mindset.
    Reply
  • demonhorde665
    i think Id needs to re evaluate teh market on a whole. nothing they or carmack have done in the last 15- 20 years has been truely revolutionary.
    doom3 came close , in teh graphics area,but was overshadowed by Far cry which came out a year ahead of it and looked better by some gamer's opinions , game play wise nothing Id has done has even come close to revolutionary.

    honestly i'm tired of hearing about Id.
    Reply
  • proxy711
    house70I am not buying anything from iD anymore. Screw Carmack and his console-first mindset.Yup exactly my thoughts. Got a refund from steam and wont buy another id game ever again.

    It's not even the fact that rage had a shitty release, I had dead island on preorder(now that was a bad release). its the fact that carmack who made millions selling PC games said what should never be said by a PC game developer. "console games have the bigger market so were putting them first" that was the kiss of death.
    Reply
  • the associate
    Although I do not condone piracy, I "demo'd" the game, as I do to avoid being ripped off by cheap shit half assed games since I have been before...uninstalled and trash can'd.

    When I can treat a PC game like a PC game, specifically having control over graphics settings, then I will consider it a PC game...til then, I won't even touch it. And honestly, I'm still playing New Vegas, which in my opinion is far more entertaining. To each their own.
    Reply
  • dark_knight33
    the associateAlthough I do not condone piracy, I "demo'd" the game...
    Hypocrite.

    Rage didn't make it on my buy list this quarter, not because I didn't want it, but because the money just wasn't there. I got a great deal with steam sales, and spent the same amount buying 3-4 games from last year that I'm still playing. I'll probably pick up RAGE on sale next year as well, no hurry at this point.

    Yeah, I could have "demo'd" it, but at least I'm not adding to the problem that created this in the first place (PC game piracy), and even worse, acting like I'm above it all.

    Piracy is hardly the death-knell PC game publishers would have you believe, but the fact of the matter is, perception is reality. However, I believe *they* (i.e. developers) believe it's a real problem, and that is the reason RAGE works well on consoles and NOT on PC.

    Think about that the next time you feel all self-righteous when hitting up TPB for the latest game.

    FYI, Steam issued refunds over this fiasco. It was a no risk purchase if you bought it from them, you have no excuse.
    Reply
  • aaron88_7
    dark_knight33Think about that the next time you feel all self-righteous when hitting up TPB for the latest game.Speaking of overt self-righteousness...
    Reply
  • you know a game must be crap if even bethesda thinks it's too buggy
    Reply
  • Zuesacoatl
    @aaron88_7 - seriously? He hit the nail on the head, just because you think you "demo'd" a game does not mean it is not piracy. Every single time someone "demos" a game, it gives the publishers another reason to move away from the pc market. I honestly can not blame them, if they do not release a demo, and hype the IP up enough, they will get sales, in all honesty, they lose that if people make their own demo. Though I disagree with the greed, it is a loss in revenue for them. Consoles are the market to be in, you release a game, very few if any have demos, and people just go and buy the new game without knowing and suffer. Unless you buy used, which will be changing soon enough as well with everyone now selling MP passes and such to get revenue from used games sales. But it is the "demo" that has given them the reason to move away from us PC gamers and give to consoles. Grow up, dark_knight is not being self-righteous, he is laying the truth out in plain and simple text, there is no difference from "demoing" to out right pirating.
    Reply
  • nekromobo
    Borderlands was so much much better than rage, and years ahead
    Reply
  • maigo
    Blame id when Bethesda has NEVER put out a working game
    Reply