Overview
- The update launched as a free download for Quake owners on Thursday, August 6, 2026, and was revealed at the start of QuakeCon.
- Dawn of the Machine adds a 19‑level episode with a cohesive campaign, a new soundtrack, a dedicated episode hub, and a new deathmatch map.
- The episode uses a looping, roguelite‑style structure where runes open sealed paths and found health and ammo upgrades persist across runs.
- New enemy variants (for example Rocket Ogre and Blood Shambler) and weapon variants (including the Super Axe and Laser Cannon) change combat pacing and encounter design.
- The update also includes an id Vault of archival assets, a cheats menu, three new Xbox achievements worth 600 Gamerscore, and known platform issues — Epic Games Store and GOG copies do not yet have the content and Switch hosts can disconnect on level transitions with a documented workaround.