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QuakeCon
Status	Active
Genre	Video game (LAN party)
Frequency	Annually
Venue	Gaylord Texan
Locations	Dallas,Texas
Country	United States
Years active	29
Inaugurated	August 15, 1996; 29 years ago (1996-08-15)
Most recent	August 7, 2025; 3 months ago (2025-08-07)[1]
Organized by	ZeniMax Media
Filing status	Corporate
Website	quakecon.org

QuakeCon is a yearly convention held byZeniMax Media to celebrate and promote the major franchises ofid Software and other studios owned by ZeniMax. It includes a large, paid, bring-your-own-computer (BYOC)LAN party event with a competitive tournament held every year inDallas,Texas, USA. The event, which is named after id Software's gameQuake, sees thousands ofgamers from all over the world attend every year to celebrate the company's gaming dynasty.

The event is highly dependent on volunteers to cover many aspects of the organization of the event. QuakeCon has historically had a reputation as the "Woodstock of gaming", and a week of "peace, love, and rockets!".^[2][3]

The 25th QuakeCon event had been planned for August 2020 in Dallas, Texas, but due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, was canceled by Bethesda Softworks and id Software on March 31, citing difficulties in planning with vendors and exhibitors at this stage.^[4] An online QuakeCon was announced in June 2020 to replace the live show in August 2020.^[5] The 2021^[6] and 2022^[7] events were also held online. The return to a live event took place on August 10–13, 2023 inGrapevine, Texas.^[8]

QuakeCon originally grew out of a group of people on theEFnetIRC network, in channel #quake. As various regular visitors to the channel began expressing a desire to meet and game together in person, Jim "H2H" Elson, a gamer from theDallas area with ties to the local Dallas-area gaming community, and Yossarian "yossman" Holmberg, a computer consultant fromWaterloo,Ontario, Canada, came up with the idea of assembling at a hotel. The original event name was actually '#quakecon', named after the IRC channel, though this quickly evolved into just 'QuakeCon'. Mr. Elson organized the bulk of the event for the first two years, until the number of people attending each year demanded a more organized approach. Volunteers grouped into teams to assist in the setup, troubleshooting, and tear down of the event's equipment and network.^{[citation needed]}

The first event, in August 1996, was held at a conference room of aLa Quinta Inn inGarland, Texas. The 1,250 square foot venue hosted around 40 people.^[9][10] Attendees who had brought their computers along to the event set up a small, impromptu network, in one of the hotel meeting rooms, playing mostlyQuake I andDoom, testing deathmatch skills. A small tournament was held, with winners taking home T-shirts as prizes. The highlight of this first gathering came on the eve of the last day, when the entireid Software team showed up at the event in a surprise and most-welcome visit, stopping by to chat with the participants.John Carmack, lead programmer forDoom/Quake, participated in a 30–45 min. group chat with attendees on the porch of the hotel. Some ideas discussed during that chat eventually made it into Quake's future public releases. This "Carmack's Talk" grew into a yearly keynote speech that lasted through 2013.^[11]

QuakeCon 1997 brought an estimated 650 attendees to theHoliday Inn inPlano, Texas. It was covered by numerous Internet and broadcast media outlets, and was sponsored in part by id Software and Activision.^[12]

QuakeCon 1998 was held in conjunction with theCyberathlete Professional League atInfomart in Dallas, Texas. Due to poor planning and the lack of people who had helped make the first two events a success, QuakeCon 1998 is regarded by many as being only partially a QuakeCon event. However, it was instrumental in motivating a group of people to start planning QuakeCon 1999 early.^{[citation needed]}

From 1999 to 2002, QuakeCon took place that theMesquite Convention Center in Texas.^{[13][14][15][16]} The 1999 event was the first event in whichid Software played a major role in the organization. Recognizing that major sponsors were needed, David Miller a.k.a. "Wino" & Paul Horoky a.k.a. "devilseye", both original QuakeCon 1996 people, contactedid Software and convinced them to become the main sponsor, and to help out with finding more sponsors. Together with Anna Kang (thenid Software employee, nowJohn Carmack's wife) and a team of volunteers, Mr. Miller & Mr. Horoky set out to build QuakeCon 1999, which became the template for later years.^{[citation needed]} A change of venue allowed the convention to grow larger than it had ever been before, and, this time, just down the street from id Software headquarters in Mesquite. id Software employees, including John Carmack, participated in various tournaments with attendees on-site as well. A large number of companies sponsored the event for the first time, includingActivision,AMD,Apple Computer,ATI Technologies,Logitech,Linksys, andLucent Technologies. QuakeCon 1999 was also the first time Quake 3 was used in competition as the game had not yet been released to the public.^{[citation needed]}

2002 saw the retirement of John Carney, and Brian Davis assumed stewardship of the event as executive director. 2002 was also the first year id assumed a very active role in the pre-event activities, with the arrival of Marty Stratton a year earlier. AddedReturn to Castle Wolfenstein to the tournament lineup in a Team-based tournament. First unofficial Ms. QuakeCon event, first appearance of Doom III theater, also the first appearance ofMister Sinus Theater 3000 (later known as The Sinus Show, and ultimately Master Pancake Theater), an Austin, Texas-basedMST3K troupe, lambastingBritney Spears' movieCrossroads.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2003 took place atAdam's Mark Hotel inDallas, Texas^[17] It was the first change in venue since the convention moved toMesquite, Texas, USA, 4 years prior. Tapper continued to coordinate volunteer activity, while id assumed much more of the pre-event planning through the capable hands of Marty Stratton. Ms. QuakeCon evolved into a tournament-based event with a sponsor, id unveiledDoom 3 deathmatch. The first display of the award-winning franchise called "Call of Duty" found its way into the exhibitor area.^[18]

QuakeCon 2004 took place at theGaylord Texan Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Texas.^[19][20] Yet another change of venue brought QuakeCon into the record books as the largest LAN party in North America, with over 3000 BYOC attendees. Tournaments prizes totaled over $150,000 and saw the world's first OfficialDoom 3 Tournament, won byJohnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. The event also had a live performances byThe Sinus Show, andTweaker, featuringChris Vrenna, formerNine Inch Nails drummer. This year also saw another significant change in leadership, as a result of an injury to Brian Davis just weeks before the event. Aaron "Alric" Ferguson was appointed to fill in for Tapper at the last minute.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2005 was another large event which saw the unveiling ofQuake 4 multiplayer. It was Aaron Ferguson's first complete year as executive director, and the first time at QuakeCon featuring an all girl gamer tournament with major cash prizes. It was the first year of Intel's sponsorship of QuakeCon, beating out AMD.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2006 took place atHilton Anatole in Texas.^[21] QuakeCon 2006 was the first timeEnemy Territory: Quake Wars was playable by the general public. Longer than normal delays leading up to the official event announcement fueled Internet speculation that the event was actually canceled for the first time ever. It was also discussed publicly earlier in the year by id Software executives that the event had a possibility of not being held inside Texas, nearly breaking a 10-year tradition since the convention's start. The entire event was also announced, planned, and executed in little over a month, a much shorter timeline than prior years. The first QuakeCon to feature a Team Deathmatch tournament. It was the first event to include the Nvidia Quickdraw tournaments, which pulled random people from the BYOC area to compete for 1,000 dollars.^{[citation needed]}

At QuakeCon 2007, Aaron "Alric" Ferguson continued in the role of executive director for this event, which sported a 5x increase in vendor space (25,000 sq ft) over the 2006 event, 7,000 sq ft (650 m²). total event space, and the return of the popular "Quick Draw" tournaments for all general attendees. The second public beta ofEnemy Territory: Quake Wars was released to BYOC attendees on the first day of the event. There were just two featured tournaments, both with $50,000 purses, and both sponsored by NVIDIA: ET:QW, and the new Quad Damage Tournament, which combined all four Quake games into one competition. The event was also highlighted by a slew of major announcements, includingid Software's new intellectual property RAGE, a sneak peek at the "id Tech 5" engine, a February 10, 2007, release date for ET:QW, updates on the newReturn to Castle Wolfenstein game title and major motion picture, the revelation that old id Software titles were to be made available via Steam, the upcoming debuts of Quake Arena Arcade, Quake Zero (now officially named Quake Live), and Quake Arena DS, also—in an unprecedented move—the announcement of the dates and venue for the next QuakeCon before the current year's event was even finished.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2008 marked the debut of the first-everQuake Live 1v1 and CTF tournaments. (sponsored by Intel) As well as the Activision Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Team Championships (featuring competitions on both PC and for the first time on Xbox 360), The Alienware Quick-Draw Challenge, and the QuakeCon Ultimate Power Up.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2009 returned to the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel and Convention Center. Like the year before, Quakecon 2009 had both 1v1 and CTF tournaments forQuake Live. The notable difference with this year's tournaments was two separate 1v1 competitions, one for only pro players, and the other was open to everyone else. This was a much appreciated feature from the community because there was no longer as many blow out games in the tournament.Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham (one of the commentators for this year's tournaments) also expressed his opinions toJohn Carmack from the shout casting booth saying that the separation "alleviates any hesitation or frustration" for amateur players that want a chance to compete. Quakecon 2009 was also the first Quakecon to have the shoutcasters on stage during the grand finals.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2010–2016 returned to Hilton Anatole. The 2012 event was the first year to ever fill BYOC on Friday. This year marked the first year for several Executive Staff including a new executive director of Michael "TnT_Trash" Wolf. AlsoOculus Rift showcase.^{[citation needed]}

QuakeCon 2017–2019 took place at theGaylord Texan Convention Center in Texas,^[22] as did the 2023 event.^[8] QuakeCon 2024 took place at the same location on August 8–11,^[23] as did the 2025 event on August 7–10.^[1]

• Most wins
  • Shane "Rapha" Hendrixson : 7 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2023)
  • Alexey "Cypher" Yanushevsky : 4 (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014)
  • John "ZeRo4" Hill : 3 (2000, 2001, 2003)
  • Dan "RiX" Hammans : 2 (1997, 1998)
  • Johan "Toxjq" Quick : 2 (2006, 2007)
  • Nikita "clawz" Marchinsky : 2 (2017, 2018)
  • Marcel "k1llsen" Paul: 2 (2019, 2022)

QuakeCon is primarily paid for byZeniMax Media and fees paid by attendees in conjunction with the sponsorship of leading technology companies. Past sponsors of the event includeActivision,nVidia,AMD,Aspyr,ASUS,Ventrilo,Apple,ATI Technologies,AT&T Inc.,Alienware,Ageia,1UP Network,FragArcade,Intel,D-Link,Logitech,Linksys,Spike TV,Newegg andLucent Technologies.^{[citation needed]}

• Official website

• LAN parties
• Gaming conventions
• Recurring events established in 1996
• Annual events in Texas
• Video game trade shows
• Quake (series) competitions
• Video game conventions

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