Quake IV 'too early to show'

Id Software has indicated that Quake IV, currently in development at Raven Software under Id's supervision, will not appear at this year's QuakeCon event, despite some apparent expectation to the contrary.

However Id CEO Todd Hollenshead and designer Tim Willits have both indicated that it's not a question of the game coming in below par. "We've been happy with what they've done, but it's too early to show," Willits said of the PC FPS in CNN/Money's Game Over column.

"We've been trying not to whip people into a frenzy with [Quake IV]. When we show the game, we want it to be something that's really impressive for the people who have been waiting for it," Hollenshead added.

Expectation of a QuakeCon unveiling for the Raven title apparently grew after last year's Doom 3 multiplayer test, when Id surprised a few people by showing off the highly anticipated FPS's four-player deathmatch mode at the annual Quake convention.

For now at least, Quake IV remains something of an unknown quantity - the only real glimpse of the game coming in the shape of a few pieces of concept artwork that appeared on the net last July, prompting Id to threaten to shut out any website or magazine that republished them.