Deathmatch Classic is a HL Mod developed by Valve Software. This was originally a Quake 1 mod and then was converted into the H-L engine. All weapons and Items were from the original mod. "Many people at Valve cut their teeth on the original Quake deathmatch," explains Gabe Newell, founder and managing director at Valve Software. "It is still better than almost all of the new multiplayer games released. Given our existing license agreement with id, we were able to create DMC for our own entertainment. It really reminded us of just how kick-ass the game was and thought it would be a great reminder for everyone and a tribute to id's accomplishments if we were to finish it and release it. So, we asked John Carmack about it, and he gave us the go ahead to do this. The key is that we have a license with id. Most of the world does not."