Quake gets a free new chapter promising "ferocious combat, labyrinthine level design, and nightmarish realms" to celebrate its 30th birthday

On its 30th anniversary, classic first-person shooter Quake has received a new chapter in the form of an updated version titled Dawn of the Machine. Developed by Id Software and MachineGames, this expansion focuses on hunting down a Nightmare Machine through new levels filled with fresh enemies and weapons. The story follows Ranger, who is trapped in an endless illusion, reliving violent cycles and dying repeatedly in an attempt to escape. The Nightmare Machine is believed to break this loop when destroyed.

Dawn of the Machine adds 19 new campaign maps, accompanied by a new soundtrack and a fresh deathmatch map. New enemies include the Rocket Ogre, Demo Dog, and Blood Shambler, all capable of challenging players' killing abilities with fire or explosive traps. Weapons in this version include a Super Axe that shoots lightning and a Laser Cannon with ricocheting projectiles. Id Software and MachineGames aim to increase replayability with hidden secrets and various ways to shake up the action during subsequent runs.

Additional features of the expansion include a vault of development art and assets from the original game, a new cheat menu, and tweaks to localisation for modders. Currently, Dawn of the Machine is only available for Steam or Microsoft Store/Game Pass copies of the 2021 Quake release. Players on GOG or the Epic Games Store may encounter a "Disconnected from servers" message when joining matches, but the update should eventually be available on these platforms as well.

This anniversary and update come at a challenging time for Id Software, as the studio recently lost several employees to Xbox's mass layoffs.