Published , by Kevin Tucker
Published , by Kevin Tucker
Even as video games get more and more advanced, some players hold out for experiences that feel like the popular games of yesteryear. 3D Realms, the company behind such iconic games as Wolfenstein 3D, is currently working on Ion Maiden, a game that runs on the Build engine used in Duke Nukem 3D. It hasn't released yet, but it's already pleasing retro-shooter fans over on Steam Early Access. 3D Realms also previously announced that it's been working on another game alongside 1C Company based around the Quake 1 engine, and now we know that the first details are slated to be revealed tomorrow.
This teaser-of-a-teaser comes to us by way of the 3D Realms Twitter account, which sent out a tweet teasing the so-far unnamed game just earlier today:
The teaser image itself really doesn't give players much to go on. The hashtag #unannouncedQuake1EngineShooter certainly paints a clear picture of what to expect functionally, but the red-on-black image doesn't give too much of a flavor otherwise. Many Twitter users have remarked that the logo is somewhat reminiscent of old Quake logos, but given the influence of the Quake engine, that's probably not very surprising.
We here at Shacknews wanted to know more about this mysterious new game based around the classic Quake engine, so we did a little bit of investigating. A close look at the bottom of the teaser image reveals the logos of three separate companies: 3D Realms, 1C Company, and KillPixel. The first two were part of the proper announcement, but KillPixel is something of an unknown entity in the video games space.
Poking around online doesn't reveal very much, but it turns out that KillPixel is the username for an account on the QuakeOne forum for someone who was working on a mod seemingly called Quake 1 Resurrection. Videos of the mod were shared on the forum but have since been pulled offline. After mentioning that the mod team had doubled in size with an additional programmer and then disappearing for over six months, KillPixel returned to the thread with this update in August of 2018:
To make matters more interesting, KillPixel also has what looks like an official website — the logo certainly looks similar to the one in the teaser image. Coincidentally, the logo is also remarkably similar to the account userpic for KillPixel on the QuakeOne forum. However, the website is mostly barren, and the social media links are almost all empty — no tweets, no YouTube videos, and only four Google Plus followers. It's almost like the studio is gearing up for a big social media presence.
These can't be mere coincidences. A clear line can be drawn from KillPixel's work on a Quake mod straight through this new 3D Realms Quake 1 engine game. It would make sense given the teaser image, too — it is somewhat similar to the Quake logo, and the strike down the middle could easily be seen as the number 1, or of a single strike. We're not saying the new game will be a Quake remake, of course — that would bring id Software and Bethesda into the mix — but aside from the Quake 1 engine itself, this unreleased Quake mod certainly seems to be part of the new game's lineage.
What will 3D Realm's unannounced Quake 1 engine shooter be? We can't say, but there's a whole lot of evidence tying it to the past work of KillPixel. Fortunately we won't have to wait long to find out, as we'll get our first details of this new Quake engine game tomorrow. Keep it tuned to Shacknews for additional updates.