Quake Just Got a Major Update 30 Years Post-Launch, and You Can Play It Right Now

No new Quake game was announced to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary at this year’s QuakeCon, but the beloved first-person shooter got a substantial update to mark the occasion. Developer MachineGames has released an entirely new Quake episode, and it’s available across all versions of the game’s 2021 remaster.

Titled Dawn of the Machine, the new episode comes from a studio best known for its work on the rebooted Wolfenstein games and 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. It previously worked alongside id Software and Nightdive Studios to make new episodes for the remaster, and did the same again for this 30th anniversary milestone.

Dawn of the Machine is built on the core of the 30-year-old game, but adds new enemy types and new weapons like the super axe and laser cannon. The 19-level episode is also designed to be replayed, as players can collect runes to unlock new paths on subsequent playthroughs and keep previously acquired health and ammo upgrades.

The update that adds Dawn of the Machine also adds a vault with behind-the-scenes assets from Quake’s development, more achievements, and a cheats menu. On the multiplayer side of things, there’s one new deathmatch map.

This Quake announcement comes at a moment when the future of id Software and MachineGames seems uncertain under Xbox. In particular, id Software was decimated by Xbox’s July layoffs right after shipping DLC for Doom: The Dark Ages. It’s unclear what id Software and MachineGames are making next as Xbox refocuses on its biggest franchises.

Dawn of the Machine is now part of the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X versions of Quake.