The QuakeCon organizers have announced the speaker lineup for QuakeCon 2009. As expected, the list has many id Software luminaries like CEO Todd Hollenshead, technical director John Carmack, and creative director Tim Willits. One notable addition is Bethesda game director Todd Howard (Fallout 3). As many of you will recall, id and Bethesda become sister companies when ZeniMax acquired id last June. While I speculated that ZeniMax would start aggressively licensing the id Tech engine and would possibly enter the sit-com world, having Howard speak at QuakeCon was an obvious, shorter-term benefit to the acquisition.

Rounding out the speakers list is Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgewood and Escalation Studios owner Tom Mustaine. One of the great things about QuakeCon is that these great minds and sharp executives mix it up with the attendees. This year's show should be similar, but with a little Bethesda flavor thrown in. Politically, it's a smart move to have Howard be a part of the show; it's a nice gesture of unity and cooperation. For gamers and attendees, it's another awesome game creator to listen to and interact with.

Any of you going to this year's show? What do you think of this year's speakers? You down with Todd Howard speaking at QuakeCon?