Two decades after release, we finally get a glimpse at the unreleased Quake 4 expansion — The Awakening. The content is rough, but it’s also pretty funny.
2005’s Quake 4 was the last mainline entry to the Quake series until Quake Champions twelve years later. Though standing on its own as a title, it never reached the same popularity of its predecessors. Thus, developer id Software decided to cancel its plans for DLC expansions, and we wouldn’t know much more about them for decades.
Starting in April, YouTube account Justin Marshall began posting “rare prototype build” footage of Quake 4: The Awakening. These started out as small clips with a lot of text covering the screen that made watching the videos a bit difficult.
On May 2, Marshall posted a longer video titled “Quake 4(#1.0) The Awakening Gameplay (RARE Prototype Build) | Lost Expansion Footage. This seems to show the first ten minutes of the expansion’s campaign, though you can definitely tell it’s a test build from the stiff cutscene blocking and dialogue. Nothing really pops very much in the video; the gameplay looks pretty similar to that of anything else in Quake 4, though with some minor additions here and there.
Marshall described the video as “first [not watermarked] gameplay footage from an unreleased build of Quake 4: The Awakening, a cancelled expansion that never officially saw the light of day. This footage is shared for historical context, showcasing early development content, environments, and gameplay elements that were ultimately cut before release.”
He adds that “it provides a rare look into what The Awakening could have been and how it may have expanded on the original Quake 4 experience. Some assets and mechanics appear unfinished, offering insight into the development process and the state of the project before it was cancelled. If you’re into lost games, unreleased content, or id Tech-era shooters, this is a unique piece of gaming history worth preserving and exploring.”
If you would like to check out some of their other Quake 4: The Awakening footage, check out Marshall’s YouTube channel.
