The recently concluded QuakeCon was a big one, marking the 30th anniversary of the game that started it all and, more notably, bringing id Software co-founders Adrian Carmack, John Carmack, Tom Hall, and John Romero together for the first time in a very long time.
I had wondered, in the lead-up to the event, if it might get a little awkward or uncomfortable: Differences between the Johns were “over-dramatized” over the years, according to Romero Games co-founder Brenda Romero, but Adrian Carmack filed a lawsuit over his removal from the studio back in 2005, and other internal conflicts over the years led to the dismissal of well-liked employees like American McGee and Paul Steed. The more recent layoffs of Xbox that left the studio in varying states of “gutted,” depending on who you ask, also threatened to overshadow the whole thing.
So, you know: you wonder.
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Now that everything is wrapped up, I’m happy to report that if there was any awkwardness or discomfort between the studio’s famed founders, everyone kept it to themselves and they all seemed to have a really good time. “QuakeCon was fantastic this year, especially reuniting with the original founders!” John Carmack wrote on X.
Adrian Carmack, who I will note for the record (again) is no relation, shared the post and added his own enthusiasm for the moment. “This was one of the best times of my life. Truly. I haven’t seen John Carmack in 20 years. I was so damn excited and it surpassed my expectations. We haven’t all been together since 94. Damn.”
This was one of the best times of my life. Truly. I haven’t seen John Carmack in 20 years. I was so damn excited and it surpassed my expectations. We haven’t all been together since 94. Damn. https://t.co/uVeSGCEgVNAugust 10, 2026
Tom Hall reposted a clip of himself and the Johns looking at an archive of old Doom design notes, calling the experience “amazing.”
Was amazing seeing all our old notes on DOOM. https://t.co/LOkOf9dk9LAugust 8, 2026
Romero Games shared a photo on Bluesky accompanied by a lovely message: “Thank you so much for the best weekend ever.”
Thank you so much for the best weekend ever. ❤️
— @romerogames.bsky.social (@romerogames.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-08-10T20:05:06.492Z
In a particularly nice touch, Donna Jackson—the famous “id mom”—showed up for the reunion. Jackson was hired in January 1994 to assist with office and business management, and as far as I know she’s still there: She’s credited as “Office manager and id mom” in the studio’s most recent release, Doom: The Dark Ages.
id mom “Miss Donna” surprised the id founders at QuakeCon! ❤️(@ACarmackArtist, @ThatTomHall , @romero , @ID_AA_Carmack) pic.twitter.com/x4nhEDJM04August 8, 2026
And American McGee, who was fired in 1998 under somewhat murky circumstances, shared some warm thoughts of his own, crediting Carmack and Romero for transforming his life “beyond imagination.”
Watching this stirs up so much emotion and memory. Carmack and Romero pulled me out of a job working on cars and into the world of building games. They transformed my life beyond imagination. And the games we went on to make together, the games I then went to build using id tech,… https://t.co/6sAv96qNToAugust 8, 2026
It’s nice, isn’t it? There’s a lot going on with the videogame industry right now, and the world as a whole, and sometimes it’s good to be reminded that not everything inevitably has to suck. For as small and simple a thing as it is, this reunion, with all four of id Software’s founders so clearly happy to see each other and hang out for a bit, is just goddamn nice, and frankly I’m happy for all of us that we got it.
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