id co-founder Romero shocked at buyout news

Admits his initial reaction was 'harsh'.

Yesterday ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, announced it had completed the acquisition of id Software, the development studio behind Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein.

While id co-founder John Carmack and CEO Todd Hollenshead were openly pleased with the deal, estranged co-founder John Romero revealed his shock of the news via Twitter.

"ZENIMAX??????? Disgusting," posted Romero when the news broke. "Fallout 3 bought DOOM. Wow."

Later Romero added: "i am positive about the Zenimax deal. my initial reaction was harsh. Sorry.

"i guess i was shocked and sad to see the id Software of old changed forever today. it's a new day and a new id."

Romero is now developing iPhone games, but is best known for coining the term Deathmatch.