Recently, MachineGames and Bethesda Softworks introduced a major update for the first Quake game with a new episode, Dawn of the Machine. Against this backdrop, another important release for franchise fans took place: the expansion The Awakening was released for the shooter Quake 4.
Previously, the DLC was never brought to an official release and was canceled, but now it has returned – this became possible due to a fortunate turn of events.
Developer jmarshall23 (Justin Marshall) said that he accidentally gained access to the files. He was going through a difficult period in his life and at that time he bought an old computer on Amazon. While studying the contents of the hard drive, he discovered the files:
This literally saved my life: at the time, I was going through a divorce; and accidentally stumbling upon something like this was just incredible. Thanks to the team who created it, and I hope the community can do something amazing with it!
As a result, the Quake 4: The Awakening expansion has been restored and can now be played. Videos with gameplay have already begun to be published online – players will be able to use a cryo-gun and other weapon models, and will also encounter new types of enemies.
The source code for the "Quake_4_Alpha" project is publicly available on GitHub in the jmarshall23 repository. A copy of the game is required to run it, for example from Steam.