--- title: Quake – 30th Anniversary Update | daily.dev description: id Software and MachineGames have released Dawn of the Machine, a free 30th anniversary episode for Quake. The new episode features 19 maps, a new soundtrack,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/quake-30th-anniversary-update-2lhzvjmaz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Quake – 30th Anniversary Update | daily.dev og:description: id Software and MachineGames have released Dawn of the Machine, a free 30th anniversary episode for Quake. The new episode features 19 maps, a new soundtrack,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/quake-30th-anniversary-update-2lhzvjmaz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/2lhZvJMAZ.png og:image:alt: Quake – 30th Anniversary Update og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Quake – 30th Anniversary Update **[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary id Software and MachineGames have released Dawn of the Machine, a free 30th anniversary episode for Quake. The new episode features 19 maps, a new soundtrack, new enemy and weapon variants (Rocket Ogre, Demo Dog, Blood Shambler, Super Axe, Laser Cannon), a replayable looping structure with persistent upgrades, and hidden secrets. It is available on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and PC Game Pass — but not on Epic Games Store or GOG. The update also includes an id Vault behind-the-scenes gallery, new achievements, a cheats menu, platform bug fixes, and modding changes (localization strings moved from KPF to PAK files). ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What platforms is the Quake Dawn of the Machine episode available on? Dawn of the Machine is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Microsoft PC Store, Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2 (via backwards compatibility), and Nintendo Switch. It is not available on the Epic Games Store or GOG versions of Quake. _Quake modders and players tracking platform availability find release notes like these on daily.dev._ ### What changed for Quake mods with the 30th anniversary update regarding localization? Localization strings are now stored in the Quake PAK file instead of the external KPF file. Third-party engines that previously read strings from the KPF file must be updated to read from the PAK file and no longer need to load the KPF file at all. Mods can add mod-specific localization by overriding localization/loc_(language)_mod.txt in their PAK files. _Quake modders keeping up with engine and tooling changes track updates like this on daily.dev._ ## Community take How the wider developer community reacted, aggregated from 1 discussion and 116 comments across hackernews (as of 2026-08-07). **TL;DR:** Commenters are genuinely excited about Quake getting continued love, with nostalgia running high and praise for the modding ecosystem, but discussion quickly pivots to the decline of arena shooters, the failure of Quake Champions, and frustration over the update not reaching GOG or original CD owners. **Sentiment:** 45% positive · 35% mixed · 20% skeptical **The case for** - The new episode (and the prior Dimension of the Machine) is praised as high-quality, free content for a 30-year-old game. - Open-source ports like IronWail and vkQuake are highlighted as excellent ways to play the remastered content. - The NIN soundtrack and Arcane Dimensions mod are enthusiastically recommended as standout experiences. - Nostalgia for LAN parties and the original Quake era generated warm, positive engagement. - The Nightdive remaster was noted as a genuinely good quality-of-life upgrade offered free to existing Steam owners. **The pushback** - The update is not available on GOG or Epic Games Store, locking out some existing owners. - Original CD owners and those without supported digital storefronts are excluded. - The KEX engine remaster reportedly crashes on some hardware (e.g., Intel 11th-gen integrated graphics). - Quake Champions is seen as a missed opportunity — abandoned too early and hurt by poor monetization and F2P/paid status swaps. - The announcement copy was widely suspected to be LLM-generated, drawing mockery for its emoji-heavy formatting. **By community** - hackernews (mixed): Enthusiastic nostalgia for Quake coexists with frustration over platform exclusions, Quake Champions' abandonment, and a lively side debate about why arena shooters failed to retain new players. **Hottest debate:** Whether arena shooters like Quake Champions and UT4 failed due to poor design/onboarding or simply because the market shifted away from the genre. **Open questions** - Will the new episode receive support in open-source ports like IronWail in a timely manner? - Will the update eventually come to GOG and Epic Games Store? - Is there any path for original CD/DOS owners to access the new content without repurchasing? - Will there ever be a macOS port given Apple Silicon and the Game Porting Toolkit? **Highlights** > PROTIP: Install the Kex-engine remaster, but then actually play IronWail: https://github.com/andrei-drexler/ironwail It's a real IdTech source port that will load the Remaster's PAKs and pretend to be the Remaster to Steam for achievement unlocks. Dimension of the Machine was fantastic so I'm hyped to play Dawn of the Machine tonight :D > — [Lammy on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49203088) > If you read this and you haven’t played arcane dimensions yet, drop everything and go and do that. It makes the quake the best single player FPS ever. The mechanics are even better than vanilla quake, the maps are gorgeous, the enemies diverse and fun. Absolute perfection > — [namdnay on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49202534) > They were great examples of what an arena shooter should be. Smooth movement, balanced weapons, well designed maps. The people who had experience with arena shooters liked them. Most new players did not want to get rekt for months on end while they learned the basics, however. > — [madewithdrama on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49202761) > Quake is 30 years old. I can't believe I'm still alive. I love this game so dearly. The mods were just incredible, KQP and Girobot in particular. Those were the for real LAN party days which I'll never get back. As in I had friends bringing over their big ass CRT monitors and PCs for a single occasion and also had ludicrously long network cables. My parents didn't mind, they somehow understood, even with lab wires running across the kitchen floor. Priceless. > — [karim79 on hackernews · 3 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49203355) > Is there a technical reason why this update won’t land on GOG? > — [fiatpandas on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49202760) **Source threads** - [hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49201930) · 222 points · 116 comments ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [id Software Might Be Reportedly Working on Quake Again](https://daily.dev/posts/id-software-might-be-reportedly-working-on-quake-again-bap8n1cbe) · 80 LEVEL · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [QUOD Is A Quake-Like In Only 64kB](https://daily.dev/posts/quod-is-a-quake-like-in-only-64kb-vrabdgjmn) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [After drama tore GZDoom apart, UZDoom v5 is here to modernise the FPS classic](https://daily.dev/posts/after-drama-tore-gzdoom-apart-uzdoom-v5-is-here-to-modernise-the-fps-classic-hbujzls7e) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [How quake.exe got its TCP](https://daily.dev/posts/how-quake-exe-got-its-tcp-cbg95kuvv) · Fabien Sanglard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A New Half-Life Experience Has Arrived, But Without "3" in Its Name](https://daily.dev/posts/a-new-half-life-experience-has-arrived-but-without-3-in-its-name-ogposhfq2) · 80 LEVEL · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/quake-30th-anniversary-update-2lhzvjmaz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Quake – 30th Anniversary Update","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/quake-30th-anniversary-update-2lhzvjmaz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/quake-30th-anniversary-update-2lhzvjmaz"},"datePublished":"2026-08-06T20:58:35.674Z","dateModified":"2026-08-07T02:45:59.493Z","description":"id Software and MachineGames have released Dawn of the Machine, a free 30th anniversary episode for Quake. 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