Quakecon 2021 is virtual but still wants you to 'bring your own PC'

(Image credit: Bethesda)

QuakeCon was first held in 1996 and is thus one of the most venerable gaming celebrations around. These days it's obviously bankrolled by Zenimax and thus the slight counter-culture vibe it had in the '90s is long-gone: but hey, it's still got games. The pandemic forced QuakeCon 2020 to move online and, taking no chances, QuakeCon 2021 has now been announced as a digital-only event, to be held over August 19-21.

The event's main attraction is livestreams which will feature "updates on existing and upcoming games", which almost certainly means another Deathloop trailer, as well as tournaments and giveaways. Apparently there are puppies too.

An aspect of QuakeCon from the earliest days has been the concept of 'bring your own computer' (BYOC), which is to say that attendees bringing their rigs and setting up massive LAN parties. QuakeCon 2021 is doing a 'virtual' BYOC which, well, OK I guess? It's always been such a big part of QuakeCon that you understand why, but it's pretty daft.

The event begins Thursday, August 19 at 2:00pm ET, and throughout the various streams and events will be raising money for charitable causes including Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Trevor Project, and UNICEF. In addition, there's Doom Eternal and Deathloop t-shirts which will see money go to animal welfare charities. See, id may make games about ripping things apart in the goriest manner possible, but all they really want to do is pet the dog.

QuakeCon will run August 19 to 21. The event's full schedule is yet to be released, though it does have an official Discord.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."