On this page, you will find all there is to know about the various updates for Quake on Nintendo Switch.

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• Release date: August 6th/7th 2026
• Patch notes:

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WHAT’S NEW

DAWN OF THE MACHINE

Celebrating 30 years of Quake, the award-winning team at MachineGames—in collaboration with id Software—returns with Dawn of the Machine, a brutal new episode building on their critically acclaimed work on Dimension of the Machine and Dimensions of the Past. Delivering ferocious combat, labyrinthine level design, and nightmarish realms that twist reality beyond recognition, it pushes the legacy of the genre-defining first-person shooter even further—honoring one of gaming’s most enduring icons.  

END THE NIGHTMARE. ESCAPE THE ILLUSION.

Ranger is trapped in a dimension of endless illusion—reliving the same violent cycles for what feels like lifetimes, dying thousands of times in a futile attempt to escape. Wearied but unbroken, he has heard rumor of The Nightmare Machine.   

Beyond the hordes of monsters—twisted by an eternity in the Elder realms—lies the Machine. It is believed its destruction will shatter the illusion, finally breaking the loop.   

FREE FOR QUAKE OWNERS

Dawn of the Machine is available as a free update for Quake owners on XBOX Series X/S, XBOX One, Microsoft PC Store, Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2 (via backwards compatibility), and Nintendo Switch versions of Quake. This expansive new episode features 19 all-new maps across a cohesive campaign, alongside a brand-new soundtrack, hidden secrets, a dedicated episode hub, and an all-new deathmatch map. 

NEW ENEMY AND WEAPON VARIANTS

Face deadly new twists on familiar foes, including the Rocket Ogre, Demo Dog, Blood Shambler, and more. Each variant introduces lethal new behaviours—from overwhelming firepower to explosive death traps—forcing you to rethink every encounter. Expand your arsenal with brutal variants inspired by classic Quake expansions, including the Super Axe—unleashing lightning on successive strikes—and the Laser Cannon, firing ricocheting projectiles that tear through enemies from every angle. 

REPLAYABLE EPISODE LOOP

Time folds back on itself in a unique looping structure, where each return reshapes the experience. Runes unlock previously sealed paths, drawing you back through familiar spaces now altered with new routes, encounters, and secrets waiting to be discovered. Persistent health and ammo upgrades found throughout the realm ensure each loop makes you stronger, introducing a new layer of progression to Quake. 

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Reality is never stable. Shift between dimensions to solve puzzles and navigate the world, or find hidden secrets scattered throughout the realms. Face enemies that rise again or transform after death, and experience encounters where the rules change without warning—forcing you to adapt or be overrun. 

id VAULT

Browse a behind-the-scenes gallery of development assets and unused content. Explore playable maps, including some levels from the earliest stages of Quake’s development

NEW ACHEIVEMENTS

Three new achievements are available to earn while playing Dawn of the Machine

CHEATS MENU 

Access the new Cheats menu at any time in single player games to help you through a tough area or just explore levels without fear of enemies

FIXES 

• Improved interpolation. This reduces input latency and lessens occurrences where the camera would visually fall behind your weapon and weapon effects
• Fixed an issue where the camera would interpolate between position changes that were too large to possibly be stairs (silent teleporters)
• Re-added weapon bobbing effects when view bobbing is disabled
• Weapon bob can now be turned on or off separately from view bob
• Removed shadow casting from Hell Knight projectiles to improve visuals in its ranged attack
• Shadow casting lights from enemies are now capped to improve performance in scenes with lots of Enforcers firing weapons
• Reduced memory usage from menus
• Improved font rendering when using the larger accessible typeface

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• Additional notes: none
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

• Release date: September 29th/30th 2022
• Patch notes:

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Update 4.1 for Quake includes an improved initial Accessibility options setup and a few other minor changes. Thanks to your feedback from the menu flow of Accessibility options we introduced in Update 4, we’ve improved the initial flow. On first startup, you will be presented with the following screen and have to choose one of the two options.

Choosing Disable all settings will disable all Accessibility options and return you to the main menu. Choosing Customize accessibility settings… will bring you into the Accessibility Menu to so you can access the full list of settings.
We hope this helps players who were confused in Update 4 by the high-contrast and alternate typeface options being enabled, but weren’t sure how to disable them, while allowing players looking to dive into our Accessibility options quicker access.

OTHER MINOR UPDATES

Level Select Menu

• Restored missing level MGEND: Chthon’s Vengeance to the Level Select menu

Add-ons Menu

• Add-ons menu selection images are now 16:9 aspect ratio

Threewave CTF

• Restored Threewave CTF spawns to original intended system: players will spawn for the first time in their own base, but afterwards will spawn randomly at deathmatch spawn points. This will prevent players from spawncamping a team inside their base

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• Additional notes: none
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

• Release date: August 18th/19th 2022
• Patch notes:

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THREEWAVE CAPTURE THE FLAG (CTF)

The rules for Capture the Flag are similar to the backyard game: protect your flag, steal the enemy’s, and return it to your own flag to score a point. Threewave CTF comes with some extras to this basic formula by adding power-up runes for teams to fight over, and the famous grappling hook!

A BRIEF HISTORY

For all those scholarly Rangers out there, here’s a brief history…
Threewave CTF was first released in October of 1996 by Zoid Kirsch. The mod back then was simple, and remixed existing game content to create something new. Matches took place on the single player levels modified to create bases. Keys were used in place of flags, and the grappling hook was an axe that fired a Vore ball. While a little bit of imagination was required, this didn’t hurt the mod’s reception at all. It caught on fire immediately and built a large fanbase of players looking for a deeper alternative to deathmatch.
Over the course of many updates, and eventually a QuakeWorld version, Threewave CTF would go on make Capture the Flag a household name in multiplayer game modes, and even spawn websites that exclusively covered Capture the Flag modes in games. Threewave CTF would be released officially as a part of Quake II, and the Quake III version of the mod would bring in new flag-based game modes and maps that would later make their way into Quake Live. Quake multiplayer and Threewave CTF have always been intertwined, and now the mod that started it all is now available for free in the enhanced Quake re-release

NEW ENHANCEMENTS

This latest version of Quake has been enhanced, with an improved flag status display showing if your flag is safely in base, team scoring, and a modern interface. The maps included have been updated with improved lighting and fog effects. All of this is included free in Update 4, and requires no additional download

RUNES

Four power-up runes spawn randomly throughout the map at the start of the match. Teams will vie for control over them, as they bestow their holders great benefits, and will stay with them until death. They fly out of the player on death, so keep an eye out, and grab them as quickly as possible to posses their power. If nobody picks them up eventually, they’ll respawn elsewhere. Holding these runes are key to giving your team the edge to win!

Rune of Earth Magic | Resistance – Take half damage from all weapons

Rune of Black Magic | Strength – All weapons deal double damage

Rune of Hell Magic | Haste– Most weapons fire twice as fast, and nail projectile speed doubles

Rune of Elder Magic | Regeneration – Regenerate some lost health and armor every second, up to 150

GRAPPLING HOOK

The grappling hook, accessed via the weapon wheel or by pressing the key bound to the Axe, is more utility than weapon than most options in your armory. Holding down the fire button will shoot the hook, where it will fly straight forward until it hits a wall. Once attached, the hook will pull you in at a very high speed. The hook can be attached to players to do a constant stream of damage; however this will leave you vulnerable to the player you are attached to.
Switching weapons while the hook is attached will allow you to hang off walls and fire, however you will be vulnerable as you will be unable to move, doing your best impression of a turret. Using this to ambush an attacker can be an effective tactic, however it should be used sparingly as ambushes only work if they are unexpected!
Advanced players can shoot the hook at the ground, and then immediately let go as soon as the hook starts to pull you. This lets you launch into a bunny hop at a very high speed, and makes you less predictable of a target as you weave your way around the map

MAPS

Our update includes nine of the maps from the original mod

CTF1: MCKINLEY BASE

Created by Zoid Kirsch
Two bases connected by bridges, and an underwater route. An instant classic, and the most iconic map of the mo

CTF2: MCKINLEY STATION

Created by Zoid Kirsch
The sequel to McKinley Base, with bigger bases, a bigger flag room, and more routes. A classic, refined

CTF3: SPILL THE BLOOD

Created by Dale Bertheola
Catwalks and bridges hanging over lava and acid, with a wind tunnel into the flag room that provides ample opportunities to overwhelm the defense for some skeet shooting practice

CTF4: GLOOM CASTLES

Created by Tim Willits
A CTF version of the classic E1M5: Gloom Keep. Two Gloom Keeps, face to face. The front door is the shortest route, but also the riskiest. Lose the defense by taking the long way around

CTF5: CAPTUREPHOBOPOLIS

Created by American McGee
The mouthful of a map returns, but now with flags! This time, the bases are stacked on top of each other: red team on top, and blue team below

CTF6: VERTIGO

Created by Dale Bertheola
Each flag is flanked by a hulking Quake Q, looking over three paths out of the flag room and one-way wind tunnels

CTF7: THE STRONGBOX

Created by Brent McLeod
With a warehouse at its center, elevators and trains between bases provide ample grapple opportunities into tight flag rooms

CTF8: CHTHON’S CAPTURE HOUSE

Created by Tim Willits
Chthon’s hellish domain has been converted into a base in our smallest map of the set, providing intense combat with nowhere to hide

CTF9: DA ANCIENT WAR GROUNDS

Created by Matt Hooper
Catapult yourself over the moats into two traditional medieval castles and grab the flag from the throne room

BUG FIXES

• Fixed Fiend arm clipping into the floor at death
• Fixed auto aim debug variables that could be used to cheat in multiplayer
• Fixed loading lightmaps in huge levels, such as when users side-loaded “Tears of the False God” in Arcane Dimensions

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• Additional notes: none
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

• Release date: April 20th/21st 2022
• Patch notes:

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NEW ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

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We are happy to add new accessibility features to Quake so that the gameplay experience can be enjoyed by even more players

Accessibility Options Notification

• After installing Update 3, you will be presented with an Accessibility Options notification. Read through the available options to make sure they are set to your preference. Once in-game, these options can be accessed from the Options/Accessibility sub-menu via the Main and Pause Menus

(Note: All Accessibility options default to ON during first launch after install – but can be easily toggled OFF/ON via Disable/Enable All Settings)

Accessibility Options

Read Chat Out Loud ‘*’

• Converts incoming multiplayer text chat into a synthesized voice

Transcribe Voice Chat

• Converts incoming voice chat to text in the multiplayer chat window

Speak For Me in Voice Chat ‘*’

• Converts outgoing multiplayer text chat into a synthesized voice audible to other players

‘*’ Voice profiles can be selected from the Accessibility menu when connected to an online multiplayer session
‘*’ Text-to-Speech menu narration is not supported

Note: There are several Voice Profiles now available in Quake. The number available per language may vary

High Contrast

• Changes the default text field backgrounds to improve User Interface legibility

Alternate Typeface

• Changes the original in-game font to a more modern one for improved legibility

Screen Flash Amount

• Decreases opacity of onscreen effects to reduce flash intensity

Center Message Time

• Changes the display duration of center print HUD messages

Corner Message Time

• Changes the display duration of corner print HUD messages

Maximum Lines

• Changes the maximum number of onscreen corner print HUD messages

Chat Message Time

• Changes the display duration of multiplayer text chat messages

HORDE MODE

Three New Levels

Enjoy three new Horde Mode levels courtesy of our friends at MachineGames!

Relic
The Trial
The Tower

QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

General Gameplay

• Added option to disable automatic weapon switching on pickup (Note: This may not work with certain Add-ons)
• Improved spawn logic to avoid spawning enemies when the player is on a spawn point

Horde Mode

Skill selection balance adjustments:
We’ve received community feedback that Horde Mode is too hard on Easy and too easy on the more difficult skill selections. To accommodate this feedback, we’ve made Horde Mode less difficult on Easy and more difficult on the Hard and Nightmare skill levels. We hope these balance changes are to your liking and look forward look forward to hearing from you on them!

• Fewer enemies are spawned in each squad on Easy skill selection
• Boss enemies will start showing up in earlier waves on Hard and Nightmare skill selections
• Hard skill selection now starts with as many enemies as wave 3 had previously
• Nightmare skill selection now starts with as many enemies as wave 6 had previously
• Additional balance adjustments:
• Ammo now respawns every 20 seconds instead of once per round
• Enemies are now more tenacious – they will now route around the map and obstacles to find you. No more hiding and safely picking off harmless monsters from a distance!
• Four player games will now spawn in double the enemies in each wave

Multiplayer

• Removed ability to enable cheats in public multiplayer matches (Note: Cheats can still be enabled from a PC host in private matches)
• Changed color of enemy text chat from red to green for increased contrast and improved legibility
• Online multiplayer text chat messages can now be sent via the Pause Menu (Note: Only PC versions support text entry from physical keyboards)
• Added option to toggle the scoreboard on/off with a button press instead of a button hold (in Gameplay Options)

Multiplayer Bots

• Added Deathmatch bot support for all single player levels in the original campaign, courtesy of Jorge Martins (Check out their super useful guides made for community modders here)
• Bots now roam around if the current map doesn’t have items, finding their own roam goals
• Bots now better handle maps with lots of air blasts that push them around
• Improved bot navigation on MGDM1, and E1M2
• Bots now roam around if map doesn’t have items, finding their own roam goals
• Bots now better handle maps with lots of air blasts that push them around
• Improved bot navigation on MGDM1, and E1M2

BUG FIXES

General Gameplay

• Fixed an issue in which music was not playing correctly on certain Add-ons
• Reduced audio latency throughout the game
• Fixed a bug in which the House of Doom achievement was not unlocking when finding the secret level in Dimension of the Past
• Resolved an issue in which the Corner message would print the incorrect one for a single frame
• Fixed an issue in which menus would not scroll all the way to the top of the screen
• Resolved the issue where the text chat window was too small while playing at 4K resolution on supported platforms

Horde Mode

• Fixed a bug in which suicide in Horde Mode would not deduct points and immediately respawn you
• Resolved an issue in which killing a teammate would incorrectly grant a frag and not end kill streaks
• Removed the random offset from dropped powerups to prevent them from falling out of the level

Multiplayer Bots

• Fixed an issue in which bots would sometimes miss shootable triggers
• Fix bots incorrectly using Mjolnir when they don’t have ammo
• Addresses the issue where bots wouldn’t chatter when killing an enemy, or if teamkilled

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• Additional notes: none
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

• Release date: December 2nd/3rd 2021
• Patch notes:

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HORDE MODE

Overview

• All new multiplayer PvE experience designed by MachineGames
• Supports 1 – 4 players or bots in local multiplayer and online modes (Custom matches only)
• Playable on all difficulty levels
• Includes 4 new maps specifically designed for Horde Mode

Rules

• Score points by killing enemies
• Kill multiple enemies in quick succession for bonus points
• Your progression is reset after the last player dies
• Every 3rd wave has boss monsters but once you clear it, you get a Silver key to unlock more weapons and items
• After the 9th wave, you get a gold key to unlock the exit, or you can keep fighting as long as you are able
• Monsters have a chance of dropping quad damage and the pentagram of protection (powerups last for 5 seconds once picked up and despawn if not picked up after 10 seconds)

NEW ADD-ON: HONEY

• Expand your Quake experience with the free Honey Add-on and delve deep into the darkness to conquer a deadly plague infecting the land
• For a unique look behind the curtain, check out our Nods to Mods interview with the author of “Honey”, MachineGames’ own Senior Level Designer – Christian Grawer here
• Read more about how to access Honey here

IMPROVEMENTS

• Improved auto aim to reduce amount of snapping and view locking onto enemies
• Crosshair color and type can now be changed from the Gameplay options menu
• Add-ons menu can now be used to play previously downloaded add-ons while offline
• Text chat and push to talk voice chat are now available in pre-game lobbies

RANGER SKINS IN QUAKE CHAMPIONS AND DOOM ETERNAL

• Owners of our Quake re-release can log in with their Bethesda.net credentials in-game to earn the Ranger Slayer Skin for DOOM Eternal and the Quake Guy Ranger Skin with the Gladus Axe in Quake Champions! (NOTE: In addition to owning Quake, players must also own DOOM Eternal or Quake Champions to use their respective skins)
• For more info, click here
• Note: Nintendo Switch users can unlock the Ranger Slayer Skin in DOOM Eternal alongside Update 6.66 sometime in early 2022. Stay tuned to the Slayers Club for updates!

BUG FIXES

• Fixed Death Knight incorrectly referred to as Hell Knight in the main Quake campaign
• Bots now chat less
• Fixed cases where texture borders were visible around certain HUD elements
• Fixed weapon firing immediately after respawning in multiplayer
• Turning off Enable Microphone before connecting to online services now properly mutes the microphone

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• Additional notes: none
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

• Release date: October 7th 2021
• Patch notes:

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• Improved analog stick input on controllers – now more responsive by default
• Added deadzone, aim acceleration, exponent and aim smoothing options to tweak gamepad input in the Input Options menu

• Hell or Dark Water (MGE3M2): added checkpoint spawns in co-op after traps section
• Grave Machine (MGE4M1): added checkpoint spawns in co-op and fixed pain triggers around pentagram
• A Grave Mistake (MGE4M2): added checkpoint spawns in co-op and pain triggers to prevent falling through and skipping them

• Save game process is faster on large levels
• Hosts are now identified by an icon instead of a color to make it easier to distinguish for color blind players
• Weapon wheel HUD element is no longer cut off on local multiplayer vertical split-screen

• Removed visible game limit in match browser
• Improved Scourge of Armagon client-side prediction

• Added bot support for the following levels:
  • The Slipgate Complex (E1M1)
  • Castle of the Damned (E1M2)
  • The House of Chthon (E1M7)
  • The Elder God Shrine (E4M3)
  • Shub-Niggurath’s Pit (END)
  • The Edge of Oblivion (HIPDM1)
  • The Pumping Station (HIP1M1)
• Improved bot melee attack, swimming and weapon selection behaviors
• Added text dialogues for when bots make kills or get killed
• Improved bot handling of elevators
• Improved bot navigation on The Abandoned Base (DM3)

• Added monitor select option

• Added quick save and quick load key binds
• Added default keyboard binds for the Laser Cannon, and Mjolnir in Scourge of Armagon

• Fixed backward movement speed accidentally being set to walk
• Game speed now correctly resets after using the Weapon Wheel
• Resolved a bug that could result in the player getting stuck when jumping out of the water
• Turning off friendly fire no longer prevents self-damage

• Fixed rare audio crash in Scourge of Armagon
• Resolved issue that caused excessive clipping when multiple sounds play simultaneously
• Resolved an issue in which the wrong audio track was playing during the Scourge of Armagon demo
• Fixed an issue in which Track 11 was playing instead of Track 10 on Gloom Keep (E1M5), The Wizard’s Manse (E2M5), The wind Tunnels (E3M5) and Hell’s Atrium (E4M5)

• The Silver Key no longer shows up in Hell’s Atrium (E4M5) on Deathmatch
• Fixed an issue in which some decals were oriented incorrectly in Scourge of Armagon
• Fixed a lighting bug in The Door to Chthon (E1M6) that caused the darkened path to be lit prematurely
• Darkened lighting on the roof to restore the original visual effect on Shub-Niggurath’s Pit (END)

• Usernames with quotation marks now appear correctly in game
• Spanish episode end slate text is no longer cut off
• Texture smoothing setting restores correctly after deactivating the Quake 64 add-on
• Fixed bug in which enhanced Ogre model would sink into ground plane after death

• Resolved issue when sounds would drop and entities disappear or flicker during online play

• Resolved issue where bots would not grab needed pickups
• Bots should now see all triggers and doors as shootable
• Bots no longer linger in slime or lava for too long
• Removed Bot support on maps that lack waypoints
• Fixed issue in which bots tried to re-use single-use buttons and triggers

• Fixed an issue in which the Max FPS option did not correctly display custom settings in drop down menu
• Disabled GPU culling to improve performance in Dimension of the Machine

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• Additional notes: this update also adds support for mouse + keyboard controls
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

• Release date: September 2nd/3rd 2021
• Patch notes:

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This minor update fixes an issue that caused multiplayer lobby instability for some users

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• Additional notes: none
• Source: Bethesda (Steam)

To download the updates for Quake, you have three options:

• let the console do its thing if you have automatic downloads activated, and didn’t completely turn it off

If not…

• try to launch the game from the Home Menu while being connected to the internet. You should get a prompt when doing so: simply follow the instructions on screen;

OR

• select the game > press either + or – to go to the Options page > select Software update > select Via the Internet.

To check that you have the latest version installed, simply select the game on the Home Menu, and press – or + to go to the Options: the version number is displayed just below the game title.