Sneaky trademark filing suggests id Software might be working on a long-awaited Quake sequel

There are some games and franchises that have almost become synonymous with gaming as a whole, or at least certain parts of it. Half-Life stands for technological advancement, and Doom carries weight among shooters, but neither would truly be possible without the advent of Quake, a series that singlehandedly revolutionized first-person and 3D games. The last Quake game to come out was Quake Champions, a free-to-play online shooter released into early access in 2017. Its development was completed by 2022, and since then, we haven't heard much of the series compared to its id Software brethren, Doom and Wolfenstein (outside of remasters). Neither of the latter would have been possible without Quake, nor would much of the first-person shooter ecosystem, and its absence from mainstream gaming is a tragic story of how you can start a trend that ends up overshadowing you. Nevertheless, id Software at least focused its teams on creating amazing FPS experiences, building on Quake's legacy and trying to revive it through a F2P live-service model, which went as well as you'd expect. The game barely sees any activity nowadays, and the last time I tried it, it didn't really land as well as I would have hoped. I still find myself going back to Quake 2 and Arena from time to time. Image via id Software/Steam. But it seems the company hasn't yet given up on this classic franchise. A new trademark was registered by id Software's parent company, ZeniMax Media. It's a stylized text saying QUAKE in all caps, with a font similar to the one the old games used. That usual logo that accompanies Quake everywhere, the semicircle with a nail, isn't in this particular trademark filing, but I have no doubt in my mind that id Software will use it when the time comes. The trademark was filed on March 3, some five days prior to this article, so it's relatively new. It could be that the company is gearing up for a showcase of some kind, perhaps even preparing to reveal a new Quake game to the world in the coming months. GDC is taking place between March 9 and 13, and while that's not a place usually associated with huge video game announcements, there might be a small chance that ZeniMax will reveal Quake there. A more likely candidate would be Pax East later this month, or even the Summer Games Fest in June. At any rate, I expect ZeniMax will have at least something Quake-related to show us, even if it doesn't turn out to be an actual sequel. The design of the trademark also implies this could be some kind of hard or soft reboot, allowing the franchise to start anew. Since Quake has always been tied to its multiplayer side, we could be looking at a more singleplayer-focused approach this time around. After all, singleplayer "boomer shooters" have produced hits left and right over the past few years, and ZeniMax itself has scored big with its rebooted Doom titles. Games like DUSK and Ultrakill are quite similar, and both achieved major success through their focus on solo play and indirect storytelling. Whatever the case, something is cooking behind the scenes, and if there is one franchise that truly deserves the extra attention, it is Quake. We owe a lot to that series, not least because the biggest shooter of all time, Counter-Strike, was built on Valve's adaptation of the Quake Engine. It's a huge name, and it'd be a great shame to have it surrendered to memory, especially considering how competent id Software is at reviving these old FPS franchises. The post Sneaky trademark filing suggests id Software might be working on a long-awaited Quake sequel appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 9, 2026 - 06:05

Sneaky trademark filing suggests id Software might be working on a long-awaited Quake sequel

There are some games and franchises that have almost become synonymous with gaming as a whole, or at least certain parts of it. Half-Life stands for technological advancement, and Doom carries weight among shooters, but neither would truly be possible without the advent of Quake, a series that singlehandedly revolutionized first-person and 3D games.

The last Quake game to come out was Quake Champions, a free-to-play online shooter released into early access in 2017. Its development was completed by 2022, and since then, we haven't heard much of the series compared to its id Software brethren, Doom and Wolfenstein (outside of remasters). Neither of the latter would have been possible without Quake, nor would much of the first-person shooter ecosystem, and its absence from mainstream gaming is a tragic story of how you can start a trend that ends up overshadowing you.

Nevertheless, id Software at least focused its teams on creating amazing FPS experiences, building on Quake's legacy and trying to revive it through a F2P live-service model, which went as well as you'd expect. The game barely sees any activity nowadays, and the last time I tried it, it didn't really land as well as I would have hoped.

I still find myself going back to Quake 2 and Arena from time to time. Image via id Software/Steam. But it seems the company hasn't yet given up on this classic franchise.

A new trademark was registered by id Software's parent company, ZeniMax Media. It's a stylized text saying QUAKE in all caps, with a font similar to the one the old games used. That usual logo that accompanies Quake everywhere, the semicircle with a nail, isn't in this particular trademark filing, but I have no doubt in my mind that id Software will use it when the time comes.

The trademark was filed on March 3, some five days prior to this article, so it's relatively new.

It could be that the company is gearing up for a showcase of some kind, perhaps even preparing to reveal a new Quake game to the world in the coming months. GDC is taking place between March 9 and 13, and while that's not a place usually associated with huge video game announcements, there might be a small chance that ZeniMax will reveal Quake there.

A more likely candidate would be Pax East later this month, or even the Summer Games Fest in June. At any rate, I expect ZeniMax will have at least something Quake-related to show us, even if it doesn't turn out to be an actual sequel.

The design of the trademark also implies this could be some kind of hard or soft reboot, allowing the franchise to start anew. Since Quake has always been tied to its multiplayer side, we could be looking at a more singleplayer-focused approach this time around. After all, singleplayer "boomer shooters" have produced hits left and right over the past few years, and ZeniMax itself has scored big with its rebooted Doom titles.

Games like DUSK and Ultrakill are quite similar, and both achieved major success through their focus on solo play and indirect storytelling.

Whatever the case, something is cooking behind the scenes, and if there is one franchise that truly deserves the extra attention, it is Quake. We owe a lot to that series, not least because the biggest shooter of all time, Counter-Strike, was built on Valve's adaptation of the Quake Engine.

It's a huge name, and it'd be a great shame to have it surrendered to memory, especially considering how competent id Software is at reviving these old FPS franchises.

The post Sneaky trademark filing suggests id Software might be working on a long-awaited Quake sequel appeared first on Destructoid.

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