Quake is a series of first-person shooter video games, developed by id Software and, as of 2010, published by Bethesda Softworks. The series is composed of Quake and its nonlinear, standalone sequels which vary in setting and plot.
Quake was created as a successor franchise to id's highly successful Doom series, which had begun in 1993. As a new series, it built upon the fast-paced gameplay, game engine, and 3D graphics capabilities of Doom. It also expanded upon the multiplayer capabilities of Doom by introducing online multiplayer over the internet. This contributed to the popularity of the Quake series and characterized it as a figurehead in online gaming.
Every game in the Quake franchise shares a basis in first-person shooter gameplay. However, the series lacks a singular narrative across all of its entries. Two major storylines exist within the franchise, as well as the Arena series, which focuses primarily on multiplayer gameplay.
The game's original plot focused on the player character, later known as "Ranger" in Quake III Arena, who travels across alternate dimensions to stop an enemy code-named "Quake". The game takes place in a Lovecraftian setting with a mixture of dark fantasy, pseudo-medieval, and science fiction.
Quake (1996)
Quake Mission Pack No. 1: Scourge of Armagon (1997)
Quake Mission Pack No. 2: Dissolution of Eternity (1997)
Quake: Dimension of the Past (2016; chronologically set between Quake and its two expansions)
Quake: Dimension of the Machine (2021)
Shifting the series to a science fiction theme, Quake II and its sequels chronicle the war between humanity and the cybernetic alien race known as the Strogg.
Quake II (1997)
Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning (1998)
Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero (1998)
Quake 4 (2005)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (2007; a spin-off of the series and a successor to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, with a storyline set before the events of Quake II)
Quake III Arena and its successors focus on competitive multiplayer rather than a single-player experience.