A canceled Quake 4 expansion has resurfaced in playable form after a fan released an alpha build of The Awakening. The files are currently hosted in a GitHub repository, although the release may not remain online because it contains copyrighted material.
The build reportedly came from a hard drive inside a vintage PC that jmarshall23 purchased on Amazon. That discovery turned a forgotten piece of Quake history into something fans can finally examine for themselves.
This is an unfinished alpha rather than a polished expansion. The recovered material includes the opening three missions, along with two weapons and two Strogg enemy types that were not part of the original game.
A no-commentary gameplay video shows those missions in action, including the new weapons and enemies. The footage also makes the alpha’s unfinished state clear, while offering a look at content that never received an official release.
Quake 4 was developed by Raven Software and released in 2005. It ran on an overhauled version of id Tech 4, the technology also used for Doom 3. Its single-player campaign continued the story of Quake II, following Marine Corporal Matthew Kane after he joined the elite Rhino Squad in the fight against the Strogg.
That makes The Awakening an unusual piece of lost game history. It is not a finished campaign or an official remaster, but the alpha gives players a chance to see how the canceled project was taking shape before it disappeared.
If you watch the recovered alpha, share your thoughts in the comments and follow along on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
