Microsoft and Bethesda surprised us all with the announcement of an elaborate Quake remaster yesterday, launching straight into Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and the cloud, which went down an absolute treat with Xbox fans.
However, there is a big downside if you're a fan of physical editions, as while Quake will be getting a Limited Run offering in Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate forms, they will be limited to just PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
As you can imagine, this has been met with a lot of disappointment considering Xbox actually owns Bethesda now (and therefore, the Quake IP), and Limited Run has yet to provide an explanation for why there isn't an Xbox version.
However, if you piece it together, you can kind of see why it's happened. Back in May, the team at Limited Run Games confirmed that they were "official Xbox partners" as of 2020, but it had "taken a really long time to just get paperwork going" and the intent was to "really start going full steam ahead with Xbox soon", but clearly that hasn't happened yet.
Here's what Limited Run Games' co-founders had to say to the Xbox Expansion Pass podcast in May:
"We're making really good progress. We’re officially Xbox partners, so we're hoping to have more to reveal soon. It happened last year that we were officially brought on, but it's taken a really long time to just get paperwork going because Xbox wants us to do certain things first..."
"We work with Bethesda all the time and Microsoft just bought Bethesda, and it’s really weird that the DOOM releases we’ve done are not on Xbox - it doesn’t make any sense. We work with Double Fine pretty often - we’ve released a few of their games. So to not have those as Xbox releases physically is weird because they’re also another first-party company now. So, I think one of our big, initial initiatives on Xbox will be to correct those things..."
"Hopefully everything gets sorted out and we can really start going full steam ahead with Xbox soon."
We can only hope that Limited Run Games will find a way to rectify the issues and re-release Quake (and DOOM!) for Xbox at some point in the future, which the company is also intending to do with Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game. Unlike that game though, Limited Run hasn't said anything about an Xbox release of Quake at the time of writing.
What are your thoughts on this? Would you buy a Quake Limited Run edition for Xbox? Tell us below.
Comments 13
Yea this is a wierd one. LRG signed a deal with Xbox but nothing has come to fruition; I believe people are saying it is due to Xbox’s lack of direction and involvement. Also this shouldn’t be a game that needs an LRG release in the first place. But I can appreciate it’s not going to sell millions.
Regardless, Xbox physicals are a lot less common than PS and Switch. I don’t care too much as a gamer since I am fully digital with Xbox and physical with Switch. But there is a product exposure there that Xbox doesn’t get. Every advert for a new game or kickstarter I see on Facebook or whatever has the boxart for PS and Switch and IF it is coming to Xbox at all then sure there is a tiny Series X|S logo printed at the bottom of the ad.
Their box art really needs to step up too. The new Flight Sim/Forza boxes are a step in the right direction though.
Also just wanted to mention that, obviously LRG have a lot of PS4 releases; but now they are doing PS5, they are releasing the same games again but for that system. So sure, once the Xbox confusion is sorted, I feel like they will go back and do an Xbox print of all of these games that were missed like Quake, Doom, and whatever Double Fine game they are referencing.
We need physicals for Xbox for Quake, Doom and Deaths Door. For starters
I don't buy physical video game media on Xbox anyway, but this is pretty crazy and MS allowing this is a good way of pissing some of their own fanbase off.
I would suggest that they should have blocked this until they could issue an Xbox version too, or even better, rush through the paperwork to make sure that it happens along side the other versions.
I'm all for MS playing nice guy and it has been great for their reputation, but no way would Sony or Nintendo allow this to happen, hell, they wouldn't even allow their game on the other platforms anyway! nevermind this situation.
(I'm not suggesting that MS should not release the game on other formats btw, this is clearly a taster to get people onboard with a new Quake, which surely will not be on PS & Switch, a nice marketing ploy).
@SplooshDmg Yea I know about the LRG/Xbox deal; but yea possible all of the paperwork predates the Bethesda acquisition. Not that Zenimax needed to go the LRG route either but there we go.
Presonally, I do not care about these overpriced toy sets. As long as the game be available on Xbox, that is fine by me.
It's to do with the minimum order of discs from what I've seen, Sony requires 1000, Nintendo 5000 and Xbox 75,000 meaning stuff like this might not be financially viable for them
@carlos82 I saw that 75,000 figure too but surely they would be flexible if they signed that deal with LRG, otherwise what would be the point lol. Unless they want to do “limited prints of ONLY 75000 copies”
For me, my Xbox’s is a digital console that can play physical games, something I only pursue when the digital sales have stopped due to licensing or whatever. So mostly older games.
Games like this I try to get physical for the switch, though. I love those tiny miracle carts.
On passing thought, I was thinking deals signed way ahead of this time distribute these physical editions might be the only reason this is getting a Switch and PlayStation release despite the acquisition being finalized. One of those “we will honor preexisting deals” edge cases.
Technically of any game that isn't Mario or Zelda, this is the game I really am the 1% core market that should be buying this in terms of personal significance of the game defining one of the most memorable periods of my life.. But at $174? They can stuff it. Although, youc an't get a more iconic piece of 90's grunge and goth, even if you were never a grunge or goth, it just defines so much of the era, I see the Q, and it's 1997-2000 all over again.
Though, even better than a 2021 Q statue, I still have my original shareware sleeve and disc somewhere. That's probably worth more than any of this LRG rerelease stuff, being actual 90's copies. Unfortunately I have the second press, for which the crack key didn't work. The original press had the full game on disc (and all the Dooms & Wolf as well I think) and there was a crack key out there that unlocked everything. The second press closed the hole and/or only put demos on the disc. That first press would be worth a lot more, but even legit shareware discs must have some collector value.
@SplooshDmg @Tharsman Yeah I think that is almost certainly the case. If you figure there were the physical deals for LRG involved, the work to actually add the enhancements and new expansion packs from Machine Games, likely an intended tie-in to new Quake content in the future, and a predetermined plan to announce it next Quakecon, the Bethesda announcement wasn't even made until September where even Todd didn't know about it until the official announcement, and wasn't finalized until, what, December or something? Yeah, no way agreements and work on PS/Ninty versions hadn't been started and inked prior to December.... And even after the September announcement, business had to be conducted at Bethesda as usual until it was finalized, because if it fell through for any reason they'd be screwed if they weren't still running the business as though it wasn't happening. They could have even agreed to this in December. 8 months before reveal, and weeks before the buyout was officially inked.
@K1LLEGAL 'The new Flight Sim/Forza boxes are a step in the right direction though.'
Actually the Flight Sim box art and case is still the same as other Series X games, the new design I saw (and was reported here) is not out there yet or is only a placeholder.
Unless of course it is out there and I got the old style.
@SplooshDmg There are already those who are now convinced this and Skyrim update means TES6 will be on PlayStation. No joke.
I'm just waiting for the Switch Pro edition of Skyrim.
@SplooshDmg Still, I'm looking forward to GoT Director's Cut on Game Pass.
I feel like by the time Limited Run does this; the small Xbox physical market left will be dead.
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