Happy 21st Birthday, Quake! You Are Now Legal in Every State

Quake turns 21 today, and as a site originally founded a Quakeholio, it is only fitting that we celebrate the game's greatness each year.

The game, created by Doom developer id Software and released on June 22, 1996, was a spiritual successor to Doom and its ilk. Although, it originally started as a medieval first-person game and not a shooter, it evolved into its released form where Ranger must fight off waves of death squads sent by Quake to test humanity. He eventually enters the Slipgate, collecting four dimensional runes, and stops the invasion of Earth.

The game proved to be so popular that it spawned numerous ports, including Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn, and mods. The game also spawned two expansions and several special releases from id, including VQuake, QuakeWorld, GLQuake, and WinQuake. It was followed up by three sequels, including the popular Quake 3 Arena. And let's not forget the great soundtrack by industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails, with the band's front man Trent Reznor, voicing the character of Ranger. There was something poetic about Ranger carrying around a nailgun.

The game also created a massive multiplayer community, with pro players picking up the pace of the game to crazy heights and opening up a world of tournaments where players could actually start making a living from playing games. Names like Remedy, RiX and ZeRo4 became legends in the early days of Quake tournaments, with ZeRo4 (aka John Hill) making such an impression that he landed a job with id as the developer's eSports manager early this year.

A convention to celebrate all things Quake was originally dubbed #quakecon after the IRC channel players would congregate on. QuakeCon is also celebrating its 21st year, and will be held this year in Grapevine, Texas, on August 24-27. It has expanded since id's acquisition by Bethesda, but still holds true to its FPS identity with regular tournaments based on id games.

Last year, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series, id announced Quake Champions, going back to the game's fast-paced roots of frenetic shooter with wild exotic weapons. Paying homage to its roots, one of the champions is aptly named Ranger. Quake Champions is currently in beta and will have its first pro championship tournament at this year's QuakeCon.

So happy birthday, Quake! Thanks for all the fun, the memories, and the website idea. We couldn't have done it without you.