The recent Xbox Developer Direct is easily one of the better showcases from Microsoft, providing useful insight into the creation of small and huge titles alike. Many of you tuned in for the first Indiana Jones game trailer or a new look at RPG Avowed, but was there another game hiding in plain sight? The answer is yes, as a tease for Quake 6 appears briefly.
The Quake franchise is often linked with pioneering a new age for the shooter genre, with Quake and Quake 2 cited as two of the best FPS games ever made. Developer iD Software has furnished the latter with glorious Xbox and PS5 remasters, but a brand-new entry might be on the horizon. During the Indiana Jones and The Great Circle segment of the Developer Direct, a moment that discusses puzzles reveals a seemingly normal whiteboard with metrics for solving problems in-game.
Oh, and the unfinished phrase “ake 6” is written on the board next to it. Now, it could be just a playful nod to iD Software, who previously worked on the Wolfenstein series, which is now overseen by Indiana Jones studio Machine Games. Or, if we want to get the hype train out of the station, it might just be a very clear hint of what’s to come. You can view the whiteboard in motion at the 44-minute mark in the Developer Direct presentation.
While it isn’t titled as the fifth entry, 2017’s Quake Champions fills in this gap in the franchise, with Quake 4 releasing before in 2005. Quake Champions is still only available for PC players, sadly, and continues to get regular updates following its full-version release in August 2022. Aside from their monster-inhabited worlds, superb art design, and innovative gunplay, the Quake games slot right in the pantheon of the best multiplayer games ever made.
Interest in Quake is still strong, with annual Quakecon conventions continuing to draw in fans all across the world. The last Quakecon saw the reveal of the Quake 2 remaster and was released promptly after its initial announcement. There are still loads of new Xbox games to keep your eye on in 2024, but as we approach another annual convention, we might get more than just a whiteboard teaser.
Elsewhere in the Xbox Developer Direct, we were surprised that this promising title didn’t make an appearance.