Bethesda: Rage 2 Ditched, Doom 4 in Development Hell

[Gahars]

id Software has certainly seen better days. Their last title, Rage, had a decidedly mixed reception, and they've been very silent about any future projects. People have been wondering what's going on behind the scenes. Was development stopped? Did something go wrong? Had id fallen prey to ego?

Well, Bethesda's broken the silence - but the news is hardly pretty.

Bethesda has confirmed development of a "new version" of Doom 4, apparently planned for the next-generation of consoles - but the game appears to be a long way off.

...Development is "not going well" according to one source, although Bethesda, publisher of id Software, claims the game is still in the works.

"An earlier version of Doom 4 did not exhibit the quality and excitement that id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that Doom fans worldwide expect," Bethesda's marketing boss Pete Hines said in a new statement.

"As a result, id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise. When we're ready to talk about the Doom 4 id is making, we will let folks know."

Apparently, after Rage didn't meet sales expectations, ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda and id Software, cancelled Rage 2 and "downsized" plans for Rage DLC.

Eurogamer

Yikes.

So yeah, things don't seem to be going too well for the once lauded developer. Seeing Doom 4 slip further and further back doesn't inspire much confidence - though I guess it's fitting that a Doom game has found itself in the depths of development hell.

So what do you think? Are you holding out hope that the eventual game will be a berzerker packin' man and a half? Or will it end up being a 12.0 on the 10.0 scale of badness?

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I think the game is going to be doomed from the start. It'll get all of this hype, very little advertising, and when it get's released all the fans will rage.

 

[Taleweaver]

To be honest, I don't care either way. Doom 3 is such a departure from 1 & 2 that doom 4 could just as well be a RTS.


Though I've got to admit: when I read "doom 4" and "development hell", my first thought was this was going to be an announcement tread.

 

[BORTZ]

Doom is a series best left behind... It's probably safest that way.

 

[ilman]

Bathesda doomed my hopes 4 a revival of the Doom franchise and I raged as I read through the news about Rage 2.
Bad puns everywhere.

 

[DaggerV]

Was Rage really that bad? I havn't heard much about it but the few people I talked to said it was okay, which is a step up from a lot of other games that came out around that time. I havn't had the urge to touch it however.


Doom is kinda done and gone, I doubt they'll capture the feelings the first two did, though I suppose they have a slim chance in hell to do so, if not it'll be a nightmare as they hurt my inner child plenty, he's too young to die as this ultra-violence game becomes not too rough.

 

[DSGamer64]

i.d hasn't made a good game since Doom 2.

 

[DinohScene]

Meh, I'll stick to the older Dooms and Quake 1 and 2.

I grew up with those games and will always cherish them.

 

[AngryGeek416]

People who say Doom 3 isn't a good game make me laugh. Probably couldn't play it for more then 5 minutes because they shat their pants. It makes me sad that Doom 4 is going back to the run and gun COD style of the earlier games.

 

[Taleweaver]

I suddenly realised I totally forgot to slap on the obvious puns here:


Oh noes... id say I'm enraged that doom is doomed. Dooooooooooomed.

People who say Doom 3 isn't a good game make me laugh. Probably couldn't play it for more then 5 minutes because they shat their pants.

Dude...fuck off, all right?

I really don't care if it's the best horror game ever created. Doom (1 and 2) was about slaughtering wave after wave of monsters, all while blasting and circle strafing your way through a hellish environment that was just a background of the constant mayhem going on. It was never about being scared to begin with, so the fact that you bring that up as a plus just shows you've never even played the first two.
Christ...even serious sam is more doom than doom 3, and it's not like that game even TRIED to be doom.

 

[Count Duckula]

I quite liked Rage, althought it was too short and just kind of ended when you didnt expect it.

I was playing on a decent gaming PC a while after its release, so proper drivers and patched game to get rid of most of the early issues.

 

[Qtis]

Duke Nukem Forever type of reception in 3... 2... 1...

 

[WhoRuJudge]

id used to be a top dog, now they are the "B" team. When I found a game by id, it meant I was going to have fun! Last time I played an id game was Quake 1 recently. Still holds up IMO. The pure imagination behind the weapons!
Quake 2 had the best mods. Quake 3 was best deathmatch there ever was. Wolfenstein, kill Mecha-hitler.
Doom, blow away demons!
Rage was ambitious, but left me wanting. Quake 4 was an interesting take, too Call of Duty. Quake Wars was fun, dammit!
Doom 3(?), if this is the future, why can't I hold a gun AND a flashlight?

Hopefully Doom 4 doesn't go like Duke... Overhyped..

 

[retKHAAAN]

Goddammit. I enjoyed Rage...