Doom 4 has seen a troubled development while RAGE 2 has been cancelled, according to a report.
The long-awaited Doom sequel, which was first announced five years ago in 2007, was was rebooted in late 2011 after three years in development.
"An earlier version of Doom 4 did not exhibit the quality and excitement that id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that Doom fans worldwide expect," a Bethesda spokesperson told Kotaku.
"As a result, id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise.
"When we're ready to talk about the Doom 4 id is making, we will let folks know."
Sources have told Kotaku that years of mismanagement and a lack of communication had left developer id Software and Bethesda's parent company Zenimax frustrated by the game's progress.
Intended to be a reworking of Doom 2 - similar to how Doom 3 was inspired heavily by the original Doom - the project soon became highly cinematic and scripted in nature, being given the nickname 'Call of Doom' by developers.
Staff familiar with the project said it featured "pointless and contrived shooting galleries" and "obligatory" vehicle sequences.
As RAGE finished development in late 2011, id Software switched focus to Doom 4, which had been neglected in previous years.
"I kinda think maybe the studio heads were so distracted on shipping RAGE that they were blind to the happenings of Doom, and the black hole of mediocrity [the team] was swirling around," said one source.
Another said: "[Studio leadership was] coming over and looking at Doom 4, and it was like, 'Now that I'm actually looking at this after ignoring it for three years, I see a ton of things I want to change'."
Around the same time, RAGE 2 was in the planning stages, but Zenimax executives soon intervened, cancelling the project and downsizing DLC for the original game.
In 2012, id Software saw a renewed focus, cancelling other projects and getting everyone to work on Doom 4, with Zenimax executives saying the project "can and should be as big as Skyrim" in sales and cultural impact.
While morale for the project - which saw a new focus creatively and technically - was initially high, it had soon degenerated into a "power struggle" between multiple teams and cultures within id Software over its direction.
The reboot's story was "unfit for a late night sci-fi channel", said one source, while others said several "top" developers had left or were let go from the company.
Sources said that Zenimax gave id Software the ultimatum of finishing the project "or else". While one said that closure of the developer was an option, others said that was unlikely.
The rebooted Doom 4 project is reported to still be in development for next-generation systems with no release date, but one source was optimistic about its future.
"They'll keep Doom 4 going. They really believe that if they can get the internal strife and disorganisation ironed out, Doom 4 has a lot of value," they said.
