We’ve just released the first video in a six-part behind-the-scenes series for RAGE. Part one, “The Legacy of id,” is available for viewing above. In this video, the team at id Software touch on pioneering the first-person shooter with memorable titles like DOOM, QUAKE, and Wolfenstein.
Happy Social Media Day!
It’s only fitting that I discovered today is Social Media Day while looking at my Facebook newsfeed. To celebrate the affair… we’ll be randomly giving out swag on our Twitter and Facebook pages today.
If you need a roll call of all our pages, visit the “Command Bar” on the top of this blog. That’ll help in your search for our secret giveaways. You’ll need lightning-fast reflexes to win… good luck!
25 Years of Bethesda
Somewhere in an office in Bethesda, Maryland, the video game studio “Bethesda Softworks” was founded 25 years ago. Join us as we journey through time via the historical relics on display at Bethesda HQ.
Skyrim wins two Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards have announced their Best of E3 2011 picks, and we were honored to learn the ‘re honored that the voting panel picked The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as a winner in two categories: Best Console Game and Best Role Playing Game.
Join us in congratulating Bethesda Game Studios on this well-deserved honor.
The Bethesda Podcast Episode 10: Eat, Prey (2), Love
In the momentous tenth episode of the Bethesda Podcast, Matt and Nick sit down to talk Prey 2 with Human Head co-founders Jim Sumwalt and Chris Rhinehart.
Grab this episode via any of the following methods:
Update on Brink: DLC, title updates, and new screenshots (Updated)
Update 6/24: To be clear, as long as you download Agents of Change during the first two weeks it’s available, you’ll always be able to play for free. It’s only after the first two weeks that folks will have to purchase the content on Xbox LIVE, PSN, or Steam. Hope that clears up any confusion.
Original Post: We’re back with new details on Brink DLC and the upcoming title updates for the game.
The game’s first DLC, Agents of Change, will be a FREE DOWNLOAD for two weeks on Xbox LIVE, PSN, and Steam! The content is currently in submission at Microsoft and Sony, and we expect it to release in early July. As previously mentioned, the DLC features two all-new environments, five new player abilities, two new outfits, and two new weapon attachments. You can find more details in our previous post, and be sure to check out the screenshots above.
In tandem with the DLC, the teams at Splash Damage and Bethesda have been hard at work on the next major title update for Brink. The update is highlighted by online optimizations, AI enhancements, and weapon balance tweaks based on player feedback. A separate, incremental update is now available on PC, while players of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of Brink can expect the full title update alongside the release of Agents of Change.
On behalf of everyone at Bethesda and Splash Damage, I want to thank all of you for your continued support of Brink. We’ll be sharing more information as soon as possible.
Get a premium Skyrim map with your preorder
Get a premium Skyrim map with your preorder
Making real maps of our fantasy worlds is an Elder Scrolls tradition. As Todd Howard said all the way back in a Morrowind blog post, “There’s something about having a physical object in your hands that feels like it’s part of this other world, that you are that person in the game, finding your way among the hills.”
With that in mind, today we are announcing that anyone who preorders Skyrim will automatically receive a premium quality world map with their copy as a no-extra-cost-to-you bonus.
To guarantee your copy of your premium quality world map, please pre-order today.
Update: We’ve received plenty of questions about the map. So you know, it’s a high-grade material that has a feel similar to burlap, and will be available in North America and European territories. There will be a regular paper map included in all copies of the game, but if you want to get the premium map, we recommend pre-ordering the game.
Quake’s 15th Anniversary
Today marks the 15th birthday of Quake, the game that gave birth to online multiplayer shooters and even won an Emmy. In fact, Quake’s legacy is far too reaching to sum up here, so rather than pontificate ourselves, we got the id guys to say a few words before we blew out the candles.
When asked to recall Quake, id Software president Todd Hollenshead offered this amusing anecdote: “One of my all time best game moments is still grabbing the rune at the end of the first episode and awakening the lava monster! I’m sure that level also inspired the USMC commercial with the Marine fighting the lava demon. Compare the screenie to the video. 
”
Also check out the video above, taken during the QuakeWorld launch event in 1996. The footage illustrates what a monstrous event Quake was in gaming history, and features a short historical Q&A session with John Carmack.
And finally, to cap off our celebration, a note today from the desk of Carmack himself:
“I could write an awful lot about Quake, but since we are in the final crunch for Rage right now, I’ll have to settle for just a few random thoughts.
I have a bit more subdued memory of Quake than many of our other projects, because the development was so tough. It was the first project where I really had to grapple with my personal limitations; I had bitten off a little more than I could chew with all the big steps at once – full 3D world, 3D characters, light maps, PVS calculations, game scripting, client / server networking, etc. No matter how hard I worked, things just weren’t getting done when we wanted them to.
E3 2011: Game Critics Awards nominations honor RAGE, Prey 2, and Skyrim
The Game Critics Awards has announced this year’s Best of E3 nominees, and we’re excited to share news that Prey 2, RAGE, and Skyrim were all nominated.
Skyrim received three nominations, including Best Role Playing Game, Best Console Game, and the overall Best of Show award! Bethesda Game Studios previously won Best RPG for Oblivion (2005) and Fallout 3 (2008). Fallout 3 also won overall Best of Show in 2008.
RAGE is nominated again this year for Best Action Game. The team captured the award last year, as well as awards for Best Console Game and a Special Commendation for Graphics. Previously, id Software won overall Best of Show, Best PC Game, Best Action Game, and Special Commendations for both Graphics and Sound in 2002 for DOOM 3.
Prey 2 also received a nomination for Best Action Game. This is Human Head’s second Game Critics Award nomination (they were nominated for Best PC Game in 2005).
Congrats to Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, and Human Head on getting nominated. Winners will be announced on June 28th.
RAGE Comic #1: Now Available!!
RAGE doesn’t release until October, but beginning today, you can learn more about the game’s universe in issue #1 of Dark Horse’s comic book series. The issue is available in two flavors — with one cover created by renowned artist Glenn Fabry, while the other was created by id Software art director, Stephan Martiniere (shown above).
For more details on the comic, read the release below…
RAGE’s Comic Issue #1 | Now Available
We’re pleased to announce that RAGE’s comic issue #1 is now available in retail stores across North America and the UK.
Based on id Software’s upcoming first-person shooter RAGE, the three-issue comic book series is an original miniseries written by Arvid Nelson, the acclaimed creator of Rex Mundi, and penciled by Andrea Mutti (DMZ). The cover art was created by Glenn Fabry, best known for his work on Hellblazer and Preacher, the comic’s variant cover was created by Stephan Martiniere, the art director on RAGE. Set prior to the events in the game, the comics are an extension of the RAGE universe and provide insights into the game’s storyline.
This comic series, developed with the direct participation of RAGE’s creative director, Tim Willits, presents a new twist on the post-apocalyptic near future as one woman discovers that the survival of humankind doesn’t necessarily mean the survival of humanity. The Earth has been devastated by a collision with an asteroid, with a tiny fraction of the population surviving in life-sustaining Arks buried deep below its surface. Those who survive emerge to find a wasteland controlled by a global military dictatorship called the Authority. But a rescued scientist learns that the Authority has lied to her and the other survivors about how this new world came to be.
RAGE, the highly-anticipated game under development at id Software, is slated for release on October 4th, 2011 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. For more information on RAGE visit www.RAGE.com.