Carmack apologizes after Petersen says Quake 'ruined id Software'

The 30th anniversary of Quake passed on June 22, 2026, prompting reflections from the game's creators. Sandy Petersen wrote on X that "Quake ruined id Software," calling it "an amazing feat of art, programming, and design" while saying the intense workload "broke us spiritually" and noting several team members left within a couple years of finishing Quake.

Petersen argued that "Id Software was never the same after," and added that the only other truly great game the studio produced was Quake 3, which he felt was not at the level of the pre‑Quake games. He said Quake was "absolutely" worth the cost—"Games are more important than game companies"—but lamented that the company "could have had its act together better and kept that dream team." John Carmack largely agreed, calling Quake "overly ambitious technically" and suggesting the studio "could have done all the great multiplayer and modding work inside a Doom++ engine" to give designers a more stable base.

quake, id software, sandy petersen, john carmack, quake 3, doom++ engine, multiplayer, modding, workload, anniversary