Quake Reboot Will Reportedly Feature Female Lead

What do you get when you mix medieval horror, the '90s, and the developer that worked on DOOM? The answer is Quake. While DOOM has continued to go great guns and celebrated success with its 2016 reboot and last year's DOOM Eternal, the Quake franchise hasn't made as much of a "rumble".

Much like DOOM, Quake mainly featured an unnamed and male protagonist. However, in this era of reboots and remakes, there are rumours that id Software is working on a Quake reboot that will give players a female protagonist. Following in the footsteps of Tomb Raider, Alien: Isolation, Metroid, and Horizon, the long-running Quake series could embrace a female-first perspective.

Will there be a female Quake reboot?

The female Quake reboot rumour was started by The XboxEra Podcast's Nick "Shpeshal Nick" Baker. He wasted no time revealing who will be developing, the main arc of the story, and the fact there will be a female protagonist. Baker claims he received a Discord message saying the Quake reboot will be handled by original developer id Software, but will also be assisted by MachineGames.

For those who know their developers, MachineGames is best-known for rebooting the Wolfenstein games and delivered the acclaimed Wolfenstein: The New Order in 2014.

In terms of what else you need to know, Baker says the female Quake reboot will feature both single and multiplayer - to lean into recent releases like 2017's Quake Champions.

Is now the time for a female Quake reboot?

For many, Quake bowed out with Quake 4 in 2005. In terms of charting a new era with a female at the helm, it's an idea that id Software has toyed with before. DOOM Eternal Director Hugo Martin confirmed he'd thought about a female Doom Slayer in 2020's game, but also teased he was open to the idea further down the line.

Ironically, there is a woman in the complex lore of DOOM and Quake, with a lesser-known character called Crash appearing in 1999's Quake III Arena. Here, she was canonised as the military trainer of Doomguy. With the seeds of a female Quake reboot already out there in the abyss, it's about time id Software made it happen.

Even if Ranger isn't as iconic as Wolfenstein's B.J. Blazkowicz or DOOM's synonymous Doom Slayer/Doomguy, there's a chance to reinvent the character. Importantly, a female Quake reboot could also bridge the gap between the series and DOOM with more than just an Easter egg. As we approach 2021's digital QuakeCon in August, all eyes will be on id Software and a reveal of what's next.