Quake Celebrates 30 Years with New Free Episode from MachineGames

The new episode is available today on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It features a full 19-map campaign, a brand-new soundtrack, and a Deathmatch map.

The development team set three major goals. First, they aimed to create something authentic to the spirit of the original: "Horror! Action! Madness!" says Lead Level Designer Andrew Yoder. Players will face deadly twists on classic Quake bestiary entries like the Rocket Ogre and Demo Dog, alongside new weapon variants such as a ricochet-blasting Laser Cannon and a lightning-infused Super Axe.

Second, the team sought to offer veteran players a fresh experience. Unlike previous episodes that reset progression between areas, Dawn of the Machine features a continuous episode with ongoing character development. The protagonist, Ranger, escapes an illusory dimension where time folds back on itself, gradually uncovering upgrades for health and ammunition before taking down the source of his planar prison, The Nightmare Machine.

The third goal was to allow the multifaceted team at MachineGames and id Software, dubbed internally as the "Quake Club," to exercise their skills on a smaller project. Advanced Level Designer Christian Plogfors contributed two levels and created a dark, ambient soundtrack that gives the episode its own identity, stepping outside his normal role to serve the project.