id co-founder John Carmack revisits Doom at QuakeCon: ‘Still a great game after all these years!’
At QuakeCon 2026 in Gaylord, Texas, id Software co-founder John Carmack participated in a retrospective talk and reunion with other studio founders. During the event, Carmack revisited the original Doom, trying out the Evercade port of the classic game.
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Carmack found himself quickly absorbed by the experience. He played through levels four and five, though he admitted to being rusty on the title after all these years. “I sat down to try the Evercade Doom port, and before I knew it, I was on level four, and realizing that I had forgotten where all the keycards were,” he wrote. “It wound up taking me 15 minutes each on level four and five.”
Despite taking significantly longer than the par times for those levels (approximately 1:30 each), Carmack reflected positively on his experience, concluding that “Still a great game after all these years!”
The moment highlights the enduring appeal of Doom, which remains one of gaming’s most iconic titles nearly three decades after its 1993 release. QuakeCon, the annual fan gathering celebrating id Software’s legacy, continues to serve as a venue where the studio’s founders and community members celebrate the company’s most celebrated works.