Quake 2 Remaster Surprise Releases on Xbox Game Pass After Months of Leaks

To kick off QuakeCon 2023, Bethesda and ID Software have released a remaster of Quake II.

Complete with visual enhancements, a new expansion, multiplayer, and the Nintendo 64 version of Quake II bundled in, this remaster is available now on Xbox One and Series S | X, Nintendo Switch, PC, and both PS4 and PS5. It’s also available through both Xbox and PC Game Pass and is playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

This shadow drop mirrors that of Quake 1’s remaster which hit Xbox, Switch, and PC, and was announced at QuakeCon and released the same day in 2021. QuakeCon, one of the world’s biggest LAN parties, has been around since 1996.

The bring-your-own-controller event has always been a hotbed for arena shooter-style multiplayer, but it’s also perched almost exactly halfway between summer events like E3 or Summer Game Fest and the holiday shopping season, making it ripe for ID and Bethesda to show off what they’ve been working on before their games hit store shelves. For example, leads from ID Software took the stage in 2018 to reveal extended gameplay for DOOM Eternal.

Some fans expected the remaster since numerous clues hinted towards its existence. In June, IGN reported on a listing for ‘Quake II Enhanced’ on a South Korean ratings board, which was initially spotted by Gematsu, in June. More recently, reliable video game industry leaker, billbil-kun, predicted the announcement, even nailing the game’s release time and USD $9.99 price point.

This isn’t just a remastered version of the beloved 1997 FPS. In addition to a fully remastered version of the original game and its Nintendo 64 port from the same year, this remaster also includes 28 new campaign levels and one new Deathmatch map developed by MachineGames, the studio behind the recent Wolfenstein games and the upcoming untitled Indiana Jones game.

QuakeCon isn’t the only event on Bethesda and Xbox Game Studios’ calendar this month. Gamescom, the world’s biggest gaming convention, kicks off on August 23. Microsoft has confirmed that it will have a presence at the Cologne, Germany-based convention with plans to show off new gameplay from Starfield, Forza Motorsport, and more.

Charlie Wacholz is a freelance writer at IGN.