Post
The id Software engine lineage that has powered every Doom and Quake — and benchmark-breakers for over 30 years.
id Tech is the engine series originally architected by John Carmack at id Software, with major versions roughly tracking the Doom and Quake releases since 1993 (id Tech 1 = Doom, id Tech 2 = Quake, id Tech 7 = Doom Eternal, id Tech 8 = Doom: The Dark Ages). After id was acquired by ZeniMax/Bethesda, then Microsoft, id Tech has been used by sister Bethesda studios — Wolfenstein, The Evil Within, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024). The engine is Vulkan-first, exceptionally well-optimized, and rarely licensed externally.
Example
Doom Eternal (2020) on id Tech 7 famously runs at high frame rates on relatively modest hardware — a level of optimization that became a benchmark reference for what well-engineered engines can achieve. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024) extended id Tech 7's usage to a non-Doom game with widely-praised technical performance.
Why it matters
id Tech is the proof that in-house engines, well-maintained over decades, can deliver superior optimization to commercial alternatives. It's also the technical lineage with the longest unbroken commercial history in the industry.
Related concepts