10 Gaming Franchises You Didn't Realise Are Still Around
8. Quake
After the success of Doom, id Software devised another first-person shooter called Quake, which utilised a fully 3D engine, more complex enemies, tactical combat, and online play. Due to its groundbreaking features, it looked like Quake could surpass Doom as the company's defining property.
Even though the sequmels remained consistent, its popularity waned for a number of reasons. In the mid-2000s, franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield shifted the FPS genre towards realistic military combat, while Quake remained rooted in its sci-fi gothic aesthetic. With new subgenres like battle royale and hero shooters became massively popular recently, Quakesque titles have fallen into the niche category. And with Doom more popular than ever, there's no doubt who's the top of the class when it comes to old-school FPSs.
Quake may be down but it's certainly not out. A free-to-play title called Quake Champions was on early-access in 2018 and fully released in 2022.
On top of that, Quake and Quake II were re-released with enhanced graphics and bonus levels in 2021 and 2023 respectively. Since the brand is still receiving a lot of love, the gloomy blast-a-thon isn't going away any time soon.