Quake: Dawn of the Machine is a free new episode celebrating the original's 30th anniversary

QuakeCon 2026 opened with a genuine surprise: id Software and MachineGames shadow-dropped a brand new, completely free episode for the original Quake. It is called Quake: Dawn of the Machine, and it is out right now on every platform the 1996 classic has been ported to, with a full 19-map campaign, a fresh soundtrack, and a new deathmatch map. Thirty years after Quake changed PC gaming, Bethesda is giving the community a whole new reason to go back to Ranger's nightmare dimension.

What Is Dawn of the Machine?

Dawn of the Machine is a new single-player episode for the original Quake, developed by MachineGames, the Wolfenstein studio behind Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, in collaboration with id Software. It follows Quake hero Ranger as he tries to escape "a dimension of endless illusion," where he has been "reliving the same violent cycles for what feels like lifetimes." Escape means confronting, and probably destroying, something called the Nightmare Machine.

A first-person view of a Quake level in an olden-days town, the Ranger holding an axe.

It is not just more of the same, though. The episode twists familiar Quake foes, the Rocket Ogre, the Demo Dog, and the Blood Shambler, giving them new behaviors and overwhelming firepower that force you to rethink how you approach combat. Weapons also get brutal variants inspired by the classic Quake expansions, including the Super Axe and the Laser Cannon.

How It's Different From Previous Episodes

Dawn of the Machine breaks new ground for Quake in a big way: it has a looping structure. Each run reshapes the experience, with runes unlocking new paths and altering routes, remixing encounters and secrets along the way. Health and ammo upgrades persist between loops, so every trip through the nightmare dimension can make Ranger stronger. If that sounds a little roguelike to you, you are not alone. It is a fresh approach for a game that has been around since 1996, and it is exactly the kind of thing that keeps a thirty-year-old shooter feeling vital.

A first-person view where the player is wielding a tubular chaingun while stalking through spaceship-like halls.

Early reception has been strong. Digital Foundry called Dawn of the Machine "a masterclass in balance," praising its seamless teleportation, significantly upgraded lighting, and strong, pacey flow between levels, while noting that it "successfully captures the essence of Quake while simultaneously showcasing the immense power and flexibility available to modern mappers."

How to Get It

Best part: Dawn of the Machine is completely free. It is delivered as a free update to the Quake Enhanced remaster, so if you already own Quake on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch, the episode is already yours, just download the update. It is also included with Game Pass on PC and console, so Game Pass subscribers can jump straight in.

One important note: the update is not available on the Epic Games Store or GOG, so players on those storefronts will need to grab Quake through one of the supported platforms to play Dawn of the Machine.

A view of a castle-like structure in first person from the new episode.

Get Quake on Steam - free episode included with the enhanced edition

Quake turned 30 back in June, and this surprise expansion is a hell of a birthday gift. If you have not touched the original in a while, Dawn of the Machine is the perfect excuse to drop back into the dimension of endless illusion. Just don't expect to get out that easy.