In May 2026, we shared a video showcasing 10 minutes of gameplay from the canceled expansion of Quake 4, The Awakening. And, surprisingly enough, a fan got access to an alpha version of it and decided to release it.
This isn’t an out of date April’s Fools’ joke. This is the real deal. Apparently, the expansion was on a hard drive on a vintage PC computer that jmarshall23 bought off Amazon. It sounds crazy, but I’ve downloaded it, and yes, this is the alpha version of The Awakening.
I strongly suggest downloading it while it’s still available. You can go ahead and get it from here. Since it contains copyrighted material, I won’t be surprised if it is taken down in a matter of hours. Especially if the story goes viral. So, waste no time and download it while you still can.
In case Bethesda takes it down, I’ve included below a gameplay video for it. This video contains the first three missions, where you can watch two new weapons in action and two new Strogg enemies.
Quake 4 was developed by Raven Software and came out in 2005. It used an overhauled version of the id Tech 4 engine, also known as the Doom 3 Engine.
The single-player mode continued the story of Quake II by pitting the player against the Strogg. Players assume the role of Matthew Kane, a Marine Corporal who has joined the elite Rhino Squad.
For those who want to replay the game in 2026, I suggest using the Hi-Def Mod. This is one of the best graphics mods for Quake 4. In September 2023, Version 3.3 came out, which packed numerous textures and 3D models, brought full shadow map files, and improved the sikk phong shading.
Have fun!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email