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Id Signs Partnership With EA: John Carmack At The EA Press Conference; Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Veggie Jackson

In the most surprising news to be found at today’s EA press conference, John Carmack, technical director and spiritual father of id Software announced that EA would take over the reins of publishing id’s upcoming games. The company responsible for the original first-person-shooter, Wolfenstein 3D, will now be stepping away from its former publisher, Activision, to do business with Electronic Arts.

The announcement was followed by a short video showcasing id’s first project with EA, Rage. The video is a brief trailer showing off a very early build of the game, but from what we saw, everything looks to be moving along well, with some excellent facial renders, unique art direction that falls somewhere between Fable and Fallout 3, and a bit of intense action to boot. According to Carmack, the game is set to revolutionize the FPS and make people rethink what the genre can offer. After seeing the quick trailer, I’m optimistic about the joining of these two legendary gaming powers, and hope that Rage will live up to its built-in hype.

Here’s the press release that gives the few details we have about Rage

EA Partners to Publish the Next Blockbuster From the Inventors of the First Person Shooter

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 2008--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that it has signed an agreement with id Software, award-winning creators of iconic gaming brands and industry defining innovations, to publish RAGE(TM), the studio's next blockbuster franchise. Built on id Software's newest game engine, id Tech5, RAGE is an all-new take on the first person shooter being developed for release on the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360(TM) system from Microsoft, PC and Mac.

"RAGE represents a new direction for our games," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. "RAGE is a shooter unlike any other, developed on our cutting edge new technology, and built to the exacting standards id is famous for. We're excited to have the support of EA Partners to launch RAGE on the world."

"The RAGE publishing deal is the epitome of EA Partners' mission: Provide the world's best developers with access to the world's best publishing resources," said David DeMartini, senior vice president and general manager of EA Partners. "The team at id Software is one of the best development studios in the world. We're excited to work with id Software to give RAGE a blockbuster launch on the global stage."

Stay tuned for additional information about RAGE at QuakeCon 2008 in Dallas, Texas from July 31 to August 2nd. More information about QuakeCon is available at www.quakecon.org

About id Software

id - defined by Freud as the primal section of the human psyche; id Software, located in Mesquite, Texas, was founded in 1991. From inception to present day, id Software has relentlessly provided technical, design and artistic leadership as an independent game developer and technology provider. Transcending the games industry, id's iconic brands such as Wolfenstein, DOOM, QUAKE and Enemy Territory have become staples of popular culture for generations of gamers. More information on id Software is available at www.idsoftware.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S and/or other countries. "PLAYSTATION" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox 360 is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Electronic Arts
Andrew Wong, 650-628-2781
anwong@ea.com
Bryce Baer, 650-628-5102
bbaer@ea.com
Tammy Schachter, 650-628-7223
tschachter@ea.com

SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.