Id veteran Tim Willits joins Halo: MCC studio

Id Software’s former studio head, Tim Willits has joined World War Z developer Saber Interactive.

“I am excited to announce that on August 1st I became the Chief Creative Officer of Saber Interactive,” he wrote on Twitter. “I will be leading the creative vision of our five studios around the world.”

Saber is an experienced studio with offices in New Jersey and Moscow, among others. It’s best known for its well-received Halo: Master Chief Collection ports, as well as work with Id on Quake Champions.

Willits told Fortune on Monday that returning to an independent studio environment – id was acquired by publisher Bethesda 10 years ago – was part of the appeal.

“The agility of small teams and the opportunity to get stuff done quickly can’t be overstated,” he said.

“I’m not saying anything bad about Bethesda—I love them—but smaller teams are exciting and fun. When someone has a good idea, we jump on it. If it doesn’t work out, we change it quick.”

Willits had been at the Doom developer for 24 years. He joined id in 1995 after impressing the company with Doom levels he created and distributed for free over the internet.

Willits went on to work on almost 20 titles, including every game in the Quake series. Willits was lead designers for Doom 3 and creative director for Rage.

Id Software said in a tweet: “Thank you for being part of our family over the last 24 years, @TimWillits. From all of us at id, we wish you the best!”