Quake IV will not be present at QuakeCon 2004

id CEO Todd Hollenshead and lead designer Tim Willits said that, although they are pleased with what Raven Software has done with the fourth chapter in the franchise, the game isn't ready for public viewing yet and they don't believe it would be a good thing to show the game in its current state. "We've been happy with what they've done, but it's too early to show," Willits told CNN|Money.

Following the news, we spoke to Raven Software's Rick Johnson, lead programmer on Quake IV and a regular fixture at the past few QuakeCons, about having to keep the game under wraps a little longer.

"Raven has been hard at work on Quake IV using the DOOM 3 engine for over two years now, with both single-player and multi-player components progressing very well," said Johnson. "We've had a lot of fun working on Quake IV, with id Software providing us with great feedback and guidance. Since this is an id Software franchise, they make the final determination on when the first news / content about Quake IV will be released."