QuakeCon stays digital for 2022 with aim to hold a physical event next year

Doom Eternal
(Image credit: Bethesda)

QuakeCon 2022 will be an online-only event, Bethesda has announced, with a pledge for an in-person event next year in 2023.

Bethesda says that QuakeCon will be staying all-digital for 2022 in a tweet earlier today. The upcoming convention is set to take place later this year between August 18-20, and should once again feature games from Bethesda-owned studios, in particular Doom developer id Software.

See more

This marks the third year in a row that Bethesda has held QuakeCon in an exclusively digital format. The developer was quick to switch to an online event back in 2020, a matter of months after the COVID-19 pandemic had begun, and has kept the event going entirely online in the years following.

However, QuakeCon won't stay this way forever. The announcement from Bethesda today reveals that it's "committed to returning with our full in-person festival in 2023." QuakeCon might be digital for the third year in a row, but Bethesda already has an eye on returning to the usual venue of Dallas, Texas next year.

It's interesting to contrast QuakeCon's digital format with other conventions around the world. Earlier this year for example, the ESA announced that E3 2022 was effectively cancelled, without a physical or digital presence in any way, while Gamescom will return in a hybrid digital-physical package, after running an exclusively online event last year in 2021. Whereas some events have hit pause over the last two years, QuakeCon has been consistently operating the entire time.

Check out our new games 2022 guide for a full schedule of all the major releases throughout the rest of the year.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.