Bethesda has announced cursory details about QuakeCon 2022, which will once more go live as a digital-only event later this summer. QuakeCon typically takes place in Dallas, Texas, offering an in-person festival wherein Bethesda Softworks and id Software fans gather for a weekend of celebrations each year. Despite the global pandemic, Bethesda kept QuakeCon alive in 2020 by hosting a streaming event packed with developer panels, charity opportunities, live concerts, and more.
QuakeCon 2021 came to life in a similar fashion last August, complete with developer deep dives, competitions, and fundraising events. Because of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's 10th anniversary, the seminal Bethesda Game Studios-developed adventure received plenty of love during the online festival, too. What Bethesda Softworks and its various studios will have in store for this year's festivities remains to be seen. At the very least, fans can rest assured the publisher is going full steam ahead with a celebration of some kind in the coming months.
While other gaming events like E3 2022 have been canceled in recent weeks, Bethesda Softworks and id Software intend to keep their annual celebration intact. For the third year in a row, then, QuakeCon will be an online-only event, according to a blog post on Bethesda.net. The digital festival kicks off later this summer on August 18 and ends a couple of days later on August 20. More information will surface sometime in June; however, the write-up teases that virtual QuakeCon 2022 attendees can expect online meetups, charity fundraisers, giveaways, virtual BYOC, and new streaming programming. Finally, though "too much uncertainty" prevented Bethesda from planning an on-site gathering in Dallas this year, the publisher claims it's "committed" to returning with a "full in-person festival in 2023."
Given upcoming releases such as developer Arkane Studios' Redfall and Bethesda Game Studios' eagerly-anticipated Starfield, QuakeCon 2022 will likely be packed with interesting reveals and developer discussions. But, as mentioned above, Bethesda Softworks won't begin sharing the specifics until sometime in June.
In terms of annual gatherings for the gaming industry, 2022 has been fairly inconsistent. GDC 2022, for instance, took place in late March as a physical event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. Gamescom's scheduled festivities in late August are also expected to be held in-person in Cologne, Germany. Meanwhile, the Entertainment Software Association recently shut down any hopes for a digital or physical E3 2022 event, leaving the Geoff Keighley-hosted Summer Game Fest to pick up the slack in June.
QuakeCon 2022 will last from August 18 through August 20.
Source: Bethesda.net