QuakeCon canceled for the first time in 25-year-history over coronavirus

QuakeCon, the annual fan convention and tournament dedicated to the legendary first-person shooter game, has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The convention has been held every year for the past 24 years in Dallas, Texas, making the official 25th anniversary celebration the first QuakeCon to be canceled in the event’s history. It was to be held in August.

The organizers — including Quake publisher Bethesda Softworks and parent company ZeniMax Media alongside original developer id Software — posted a note to the website and Twitter account for QuakeCon informing fans of the unfortunate news on Tuesday morning.

“In recent weeks we have spent a lot of time discussing how we might still move forward with QuakeCon this year, particularly given that it’s the 25th year of the event. However, with all of the logistical challenges and uncertainties we currently face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s QuakeCon,” the message reads. “The health and safety of our employees, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and players will always be our top priority, and in these times it felt wrong to be talking about a gathering when gathering is the last thing any of us should be doing right now.”

The message says that while the state of the COVID-19 pandemic may have improved by August, “we do know it will not be possible to complete the work and planning with partners, vendors, volunteers, and others that is required to make QuakeCon a success.”

Quake was first released nearly 25 years ago as a successor to the seminal first-person shooter Doom, and it became an instant hit and one of the most played competitive games on the planet in the mid- to late-90s. QuakeCon, established by fans of the game who met online in a dedicated Quake IRC room, has grown over the years into a full-blown Bethesda and id celebration, with an annual Quake LAN tournament attached that has crowned winners in various iterations of the Quake series every year since 1996.