Doom creator id Software used Taiwanese pirates to help distribute the game, John Romero reveals

John Romero, co-founder of id Software and creator of the Doom series, has shared a story about the company's collaboration with Taiwanese pirates during the 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, the game industry relied on a Shareware model, where players could initially play the game for free and purchase the full version for a fee. In this model, Romero explained, pirates would copy and resell Shareware versions of games, creating a market for pirated copies.

Romero recounted his experience at a QuakeCon 2026 panel, where he said id Software was "totally happy" with this situation. The reason for their happiness was that the pirates were effectively acting as distributors for the game, particularly in Taiwan, a region id Software wasn't as familiar with. Instead of fighting piracy, Romero and his team decided to collaborate with these pirates and offered them cheap boxes to distribute the game.

They asked the pirates to distribute the game for free, without providing any money, but simply help spread it. This approach turned out to be beneficial for id Software as they made money when players eventually ordered the complete game. Moreover, this collaboration helped establish a fanbase in Taiwan, which could later support id Software's future projects.

Romero emphasized that in the 80s, copy protection was a constant struggle, but id Software preferred not to focus on it, as it was a battle that couldn't be won. They believed in making the game accessible to those who wanted to play, and if that meant they didn't make money from everyone, they were okay with that, as long as they could make enough to fund their next game.

Romero left id Software in 1996, following the release of Quake, due to a falling out with co-founder John Carmack. Today, Romero runs his own studio in Ireland, and id Software recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of Quake with a new expansion, Dawn of the Machine. However, the company is currently facing significant restructuring challenges, including recent cuts to the Xbox division.