John Carmack Joins Oculus VR

For the past 22 years, gaming icon John Carmack has supplied the gaming industry with innumerable development breakthroughs. During his time at id Software, Carmack's various innovations created the Commander Keen, Doom and Quake series. Software isn't enough for the brainy developer, however, who wants to sink his teeth into a product that could redefine gaming entirely. Today, Oculus VR has announced that Carmack will be joining their team as its chief technology officer.

After unveiling the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset at E3 last year, Carmack has been pushing the device to new heights of popularity, adding support for it in id Software titles like Doom 3: BFG and the in-development Doom 4. Now, he's fully on board to make the device as revolutionary and game-changing as his previous endeavors, while remaining focused on id Software's own projects.

Amid rumors of Carmack leaving id Software, the award-winning game developer has issued a formal statement explaining that Carmack will remain with id as its technical director. While Doom fans can breathe a sigh of relief, only time will tell how Carmack will be able to divide his time between the two companies. Only recently have his aerospace projects been put on hold, with Armadillo Aerospace taking a backseat to Carmack's software and hardware development.

 "I have fond memories of the development work that led to a lot of great things in modern gaming — the intensity of the first person experience, LAN and internet play, game mods, and so on. Duct taping a strap and hot gluing sensors onto Palmer's early prototype Rift and writing the code to drive it ranks right up there."

Carmack has long been interested in the implications of the Oculus Rift and its virtual reality technology, so joining their team will no doubt benefit the final product. However, the id Software co-founder is not the only person Oculus has their eyes on, as they are looking to continue putting together a solid team of the brightest minds in the business. Who else might the company have in mind for current and upcoming projects? Ranters, does this announcement make you even more excited for the Oculus Rift? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!

Update: John Carmack has commented that he will be working full time for Oculus VR, while dedicating less time to id Software:

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How might this impact development of Doom 4? More updates as they are announced.

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Source: NeoGAF