Carmack on id departure: 'VR has the possibility to be something really huge'

In an interview with USA Today, John Carmack characterizes his recent decision to leave id Software for Oculus VR as motivated by the potential of the Oculus Rift and VR technology in general.

"I really do think VR is now one of the most exciting things that can be done in this whole sector of consumer electronic entertainment stuff," said Carmack. "I've seen this when we transitioned from 2D games to 3D games and everybody has seen the mobile transition, right now in the last five years. After you have been around for a while, you can notice some of the trends. It really feels like VR has the possibility to be something really huge."

That John Carmack, a man responsible for some the most influential 3D game engines in history, would be drawn to new rendering technology should come as no shock. What is surprising, however, is that Carmack offered id Software parent company ZeniMax Media a deal whereby id could work alongside Oculus VR, allowing Carmack to retain his old position while also feeding his drive to explore the potential of VR.

Carmack's proposal was rejected. "It would have been a huge win," said Carmack. "It seemed like a sensible plan for me.

"But they couldn't come together on that which made me really sad. It was just unfortunate. When it became clear that I wasn't going to have the opportunity to do any work on VR while at id Software, I decided to not renew my contract."

[Image: Oculus VR]