KEY QUAKECON MOMENTS

THE UPS AND DOWNS THAT SHAPED QUAKECON

THE FIRST QUAKECON • 1996

■ Computers didn’t have the capability to stage multiplayer battles in games like Quake when it was released in 1996. So a group of 40 id Software fans from across America organised a LAN (Local Area Network) party at a La Quinta Inn in Garland, Texas, that they dubbed ‘Quakecon’.

CPL SETS UP THE FIRST QUAKECON PRO TOURNEY • 1998

■ Quakecon doubled in size as its word of mouth spread across the growing Internet. So did the cash prize pool for Quake tournaments thanks to the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) making it one of the first and most lucrative pro-esports tournaments in the industry.

ID SOFTWARE MAKES QUAKECON OFFICIAL • 1999

■ The fans could only carry so much of the planning for the growing game gathering. That’s when id Software decided to step in and help organise and secure financing for the third Quakecon that attracted over 2,000 people. The studio has helmed the annual event ever since for its fans.

QUAKECON BECOMES THE WORLD’S LARGEST LAN PARTY • 2007

■ The annual, free game convention becomes so big that it moves to the massive Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. The crowd of 7,000 took up 70,000 square feet of hotel space helping Quakecon earn a Guinness World Record for the largest free LAN party in the word.

THE FOURTH DOOM IS FINALLY REVEALED • 2014

■ The long-awaited release of the Doom next-gen reboot went through seven years of gruelling development but id, now owned by Zenimax, saved its first gameplay demo just for its rabid, raucous fans who attended Quakecon. The game simply titled Doom would finally get a release two years later.