Quake gets a free 19-map episode from MachineGames for its 30th anniversary
Dawn of the Machine is a massive new update for the 2021 Quake remaster, adding a time-looping campaign and persistent upgrades.
MachineGames and id Software have released a free 19-map episode for the original Quake to celebrate the game's 30th anniversary. The update, titled Dawn of the Machine, is available today across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch for anyone who owns the 2021 remaster.
As we previously reported, this release coincides with QuakeCon 2026, which is currently running in Grapevine, Texas. According to the PlayStation Blog, the new campaign introduces custom weapon variants and new enemy types to the 1996 shooter.
Dawn of the Machine launch trailer. (Credit: Bethesda Softworks)
19 maps and a time loop
The campaign uses a time-looping progression structure with persistent upgrades and continuous pacing, while an episode hub is provided separately to select episodes rather than resetting player progress between maps. It is a structural shift from the original game's episodic format, which stripped players of their weapons at the start of each new chapter.
When id Software launched Quake in June 1996, it pushed the first-person shooter genre into full polygonal 3D. Following the massive success of DOOM, the development team built a true 3D engine that abandoned sprite-based enemies for polygonal models. This allowed for vertical level architecture that was impossible in earlier games. It also popularized mouse-look controls and physics exploits like rocket jumping.
It is nice to see a 30-year-old game still getting official map packs.
Christian Plogfors pulls double duty
MachineGames has a history of building these retro expansions. An internal passion group at the Swedish studio dubbed Quake Club, spearheaded by Lead Level Designer Andrew Yoder, builds these map packs outside their normal AAA development duties. When they are not working on modern titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, this group experiments with legacy 3D game engines.
They previously released Dimension of the Past for the game's 20th anniversary in 2016, and Dimension of the Machine alongside the digital remaster in 2021. For this latest release, the team handled both the level architecture and the audio internally. Christian Plogfors is an Advanced Level Designer at MachineGames who composed the soundtrack for Dawn of the Machine as a personal contribution alongside designing two levels for the campaign.
Free for anyone with the 2021 remaster
Dawn of the Machine is a free software update, but it requires the specific 2021 digital remaster handled by Nightdive Studios to play. That version updated the original engine for modern platforms, adding widescreen support and higher resolutions while keeping the 1990s movement mechanics intact.
The release ties directly into the history of QuakeCon itself. The convention started in August 1996 as a small fan-organized IRC meetup in Garland, Texas, specifically to celebrate the launch of Quake. Three decades later, it is North America's longest-running annual LAN party, and attendees can play the new maps on the show floor this weekend.
Pick up Quake II on Humble Bundle.
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