Id Software

Background
id Software was founded in 1991 by John Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall and Adrian Carmack. The company is best known for the creation of the first-person shooter with Wolfenstein 3D in 1992. The company then was put on the map with the release of DOOM in 1993 and also had Quake, another well acclaimed shooter. Since 2009, the company is a subsidiary of ZeniMax, where publishing rights would then go to Bethesda Softworks. In the company's earlier days, no real logo was used; it did appear on the credits. The first real logo was used on the 3DO port of DOOM and the animated logo first appeared on Quake II.

1st Logo (October 19, 1995-April 26, 1996)


Logo: The common corporate logo of the year, with the letters "id" overlapping each other and "SOFTWARE" below. There is also "INC" at the tail of the logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only seen on 3DO ports for Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (December 9, 1997)


Logo: On a rusted steel background, the id logo ("id" in a box) gets punched in on the background a little bit at a time. First the top part of the "i", then the bottom part of the "d", then the rest of the "i" and "d", then the top part of the "d", then the lower left corner.

FX/SFX: The logo getting punched in.

Music/Sounds: Five pounding sounds.

Availability: Seen on Quake II on the PC.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (September 30, 1999)


Logo: On a black background is the "'id' in a box" logo in white. The logo has black faded smudges and creases.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appears on Quake II for the PlayStation.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (December 2, 1999, October 10, 2000)


Logo: The concept is the same as the second logo, except updated. On a stone background, the lower left of the logo pounds through. The logo is carved in a stone background, and as the logo pounds its way through, the  stone crumbles as dust falls down. Then the top middle pounds itself in, then most of the logo inside the square appears, then a bit more, then the whole logo pounds into the screen and back as dust falls.

FX/SFX: The logo pounding itself in, the stone crumbling, the dust falling.

Music/Sounds: Same as the second logo.

Availability: Seen on Quake III: Arena on the PC. Also appears on the Dreamcast port.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (November 19, 2001)


Logo: On a black background with rain falling to the ground, the white "'id' in the box" with the faded smudges is superimposed on the background with "an" above and "software game" below. The words are white as well.

FX/SFX: None, it's a superimposed logo.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on Return to Castle Wolfenstein on PC.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (May 6, 2003-October 18, 2005)


Nickname: "The Laboratory"

Logo: We move across a laboratory full of evil-looking equipment, tubes, gauges and steam knobs (a la LTI Gray Matter). The machinery seems to be attached to a large breathing organ with the "id" logo, now, carved on it, which we bump into. The organ then dims, becoming less visible.

FX/SFX: The whole animation of the lab made pretty accurately.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of working machines, steam and pulse, ending with a bump sound.

Availability: Seen on the PS2 and Xbox versions of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, as well as DOOM 3 and Quake 4.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (August 18, 2009-)


Nickname: "Neural Net"

Logo: We start with the image of what appears to be a medical shot of a human head from the side. The image begins to exfoliate and parts of it zooming, as we move through the brain cortex, which already turns. Then we move along the nerve through a network of other nerves, and towards the shining node. When we bump it, it shows the id Software logo.

Variant: On DOOM (2016), DOOM II: Hell on Earth (packaged with DOOM 3: BFG Edition), and Quake Champions, a still version of the logo is used.

FX/SFX: The animation of the nerves and brain cortex, the appearance of the id logo.

Music/Sounds: A small click at the start and synth wheezing as we move.

Availability: Seen on Rage, Wolfenstein (2009), DOOM 3: BFG Edition, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, DOOM (2016), and the free-to-play Quake Champions.

Editor's Note: None.