Publishers Chase Quake MMO, Offers Rejected by id

During an interview with Shacknews, id Software president John Carmack revealed that the company has previously turned down publisher proposals to develop a massive multiplayer version of its shooter series Quake.

Saying that id had passed on several offers of "good money" to develop a Quake MMO, Carmack added that the company would not be attempting a similar project anytime soon.

"id has no interest in MMO development," said Carmack, who added that while he is familiar with the technology, he is also "fully cognizant" of the challenges and risks of creating a game in the genre.

id Software is currently dabbling in web-based online gaming with its upcoming Quake III Arena port Quake Live. In an interview with Shacknews last month, Carmack said development of the game required a "significant effort" for id due to the company's relative inexperience with internet databases.

"We did not have the experience in website development, database management, and all of that web world type stuff," said Carmack on developing Quake Live. "And honestly, we underestimated the challenge involved in that."