During QuakeCon 2021, head of Xbox Phil Spencer talked about the legacy left behind by Quake and how much of a cultural impact it had within the industry at large. The original Quake received a surprise remastered release yesterday for modern platforms, and is available right now.
Quake was one of the first arena shooters to pioneer the fast-paced action that DOOM flirted with before. The game’s deep mechanics left players engaged on online deathmatches for hours on end, and Quake was one of the earliest esports games in the FPS genre.
“I think it’s important for us as players, as people who love the gaming industry, [to acknowledge] what are art form is about, to recognise those franchises that really changed so much that came after them due to the sheer innovation, differentiation, and kind of risk taking the team took. Quake was clearly one of those franchises. You can remember before Quake and after Quake. I think everything that came after Quake both had a bar that the franchise set, and also just an impact on design and multiplayer that we feel in the games we’re still playing today. Awesome franchise to recognise and give it its due for what it meant to our industry,” Phil Spencer said (as transcribed by Pure Xbox)
In addition to the console releases, Quake 2 and Quake 3: Arena were also launched on Xbox Game Pass for PC. It’s rumored that this is a strategy to revive this classic franchise with the help of MachineGames. Of course, that remains to be seen if the rumors eventually turn out to be true – but fans seem to elated with the surprise nevertheless.
