Thirty years after Quake first introduced us to its particular brand of medieval industrial nightmare fuel, id Software’s seminal FPS has received an entirely new campaign. Dawn of the Machine is available now as a free update for the enhanced version of Quake, with MachineGames once again returning to the game that helped define the first-person shooter.
Dawn of the Machine isn’t just a couple of bonus levels thrown in for Quake’s 30th birthday either. The new episode consists of 19 new maps forming a single campaign, accompanied by a new soundtrack, hidden secrets and a new Deathmatch map.
MachineGames has some history with Quake by now. The Swedish studio previously created Dimension of the Past, originally released for Quake’s 20th anniversary, followed by Dimension of the Machine, which was included with the enhanced version of Quake released in 2021. Dawn of the Machine continues that relationship, but introduces considerably more than another collection of traditional Quake maps.
This time Ranger finds himself trapped in a dimension where time loops back on itself. Actions taken during one visit can change areas later in the campaign, while collecting runes opens previously inaccessible routes containing additional encounters and secrets. Persistent health and ammunition upgrades also introduce a light progression system to the familiar Quake formula.
There are some new toys to play with as well. Existing enemies return in new variants including the Rocket Ogre, Demo Dog and Blood Shambler, while Ranger gets weapon variants such as a lightning-powered Super Axe and a Laser Cannon whose projectiles can ricochet off surfaces. Ultimately, the objective is to break the cycle and confront the Nightmare Machine responsible for the dimension.
Dawn of the Machine was developed by MachineGames in collaboration with id Software and released as part of Quake’s 30th anniversary celebrations at QuakeCon 2026. It is free for owners of the enhanced version of Quake on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, with the Switch version also playable on Nintendo Switch 2 through backwards compatibility. It is additionally available through Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
For a game released in 1996, getting 19 completely new maps from the studio behind the modern Wolfenstein games isn’t a bad way to celebrate turning 30.
