QuakeCon is one of the most venerable gaming festivals, first held in 1996. These days it is obviously run by Zenimax, so the slight countercultural vibe that existed in the 90s has long since disappeared. The pandemic forced QuakeCon 2020 to go online, and not wanting to take any chances, QuakeCon 2021 was announced as a digital-only event to be held August 19-21.

The centerpiece of the event will be a live stream, offering "updates on existing and upcoming games," i.e., Deathloop trailers, tournaments, giveaways, etc. Apparently there will be puppies, too.

Since the early days of QuakeCon, there has been a "BYOC" (Bring Your Own Computer) concept where attendees bring their own rigs and set up a large LAN party; QuakeCon2021 is going to be a "virtual" BYOC, and well OK, I guess.

The event began on Thursday, August 19 at 2 p.m. ET, and through a variety of streams and events, the event was attended by Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Trevor Project, UNICEF, and other charities. Additionally, Doom Eternal and Deathloop t-shirts will be donated to animal protection charities. See, id may make a game of tearing things up in the most gruesome way possible, but what they really want to do is pet dogs.

QuakeCon will take place August 19-21. The full schedule of events has not yet been released, but there is an official Discord.