Zenimax, Bethesda Take Rage Publishing Back From EAP

Now that id Software is owned by Bethesda parent Zenimax, the in-development Rage won't be published through Electronic Arts' EA Partners division after all. Instead, Bethesda has snatched back the publishing rights for id's latest title: "Electronic Arts will not be involved in the sales and marketing of Rage," said Zenimax in a statement. According to the companies, the development of Rage, an action-FPS hybrid set some 100 years in the future, isn't affected by the change in hands. Zenimax's surprise acquisition of id occurred earlier this year; as part of the deal, Bethesda is to publish all of id's future titles including Doom 4. Although the specific value of the id deal was never revealed, Zenimax secured $105 million in debt financing to make it happen. The company's publicly-disclosed financing now nears half a billion dollars over the last two years. No reason was given for the change in the existing EAP deal for Rage. It's likely that as id's parent, Zenimax, would rather have full control over the property; Zenimax subsidiary Bethesda, however, declined to comment on the issue.