Cancelled Quake 4 expansion resurfaces on an old hard drive and lands on GitHub

Nearly two decades after its cancellation, the Quake 4: Awakening expansion has made its way into the public domain. Programmer Justin Marshall stumbled upon the build on the hard drive of a vintage computer bought from Amazon and uploaded it to GitHub. The release caught the community off guard, as the project had long been considered lost.

The add-on was being developed by Ritual Entertainment, the studio behind SiN. Activision pulled the plug due to underwhelming sales of the base game. Marshall, who worked on The Evil Within, XCOM 2, Dead Island 2, and The Dark Pictures Anthology, said he found the files during a rough stretch in his life, dealing with a divorce and a layoff amid the industry's sweeping job cuts. He described the discovery as something that essentially saved his life.

Several details back up the build's authenticity. Configuration files reference the names of Ritual employees, including legendary Duke Nukem 3D level designer Richard Grey and Michael Russell, who had previously discussed the expansion. Russell claimed the add-on was 95% complete when Activision cancelled it. Moreover, enthusiasts have already gotten the build running: a YouTube playthrough showcases the first three missions, featuring new weapons like a cryo cannon and a section where the player pilots a mech.

Some elements, such as certain scripted sequences, appear unfinished, but the build largely matches Russell's estimate of its completeness. Marshall said he uploaded the expansion for preservation purposes. Whether the project will receive further community support or remain in its current state is still unclear.