14 DAY TRIAL // id Software and Electronic Arts are announcing that they have entered a deal regarding the distribution of the upcoming id title RAGE through the EA Partners label. The new game from id is being billed as "an all-new take on the first person shooter," and is in development for the PC, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Mac. No estimated release date is currently known.
The new id Tech 5 engine was demonstrated a while ago at the WWDC07 by John Carmack, the man who chairs id Software. He claims that the technology behind the engine is revolutionary and that it can be used to create games with a new level of photorealism.
Not many details are available for RAGE, as id Software is known for keeping its projects under wraps. John Carmack has said once that more information regarding the game is due to be released at QuakeCon 2008, which will take place in Dallas, Texas, between July 31 and August 2.
David DeMartini, senior vice president and general manager of EA Partners, stated: "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. 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."
Electronic Arts is more than happy to attract new developers through its EA Partners network, especially if said developers have previously published games through Electronic Arts' number one rival Activision, as id has done. With the merger between Vivendi Games and Activision, Electronic Arts will be hard-pressed to match the clout and the distribution power of the new Activision Blizzard, so all victories on the publishing front are very important.