After three years of being an online-only event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, QuakeCon will return to an in-person event in 2023, Bethesda Softworks announced today.

"QuakeCon is our favorite event of the year and we can't wait to meet our amazing QuakeCon community again face-to-face, celebrate the game, and frolic all weekend with thousands of friends," id Software boss Marty Stratton said. In its first year back, QuakeCon 2023 will focus on the fan-favorite BYOCs and players that have made QuakeCon the premier gaming gathering for over 25 years."

BYOC stands for "Bring Your Own Computer," and that's exactly what it is: bring your own PC and join the massive, non-stop LAN party that runs throughout the entire event. This LAN is notable not only for its sheer size (thousands of PCs are brought in at a time), but also for the extravagance of the case mods on display (opens in new tab), which never fail to impress.

In previous years, general admission to QuakeCon was free, but those who wanted to attend BYOC had to purchase tickets. In 2023, however, Bethesda is going all out for LAN, dropping the exhibit hall and general admission access: QuakeCon 2023 "will be a ticketed event and admission will be limited to pre-registered BYOC attendees," Bethesda said.

Like most other major gaming conventions, QuakeCon has chosen to be online-only from 2020-2022. However, the U.S. government recently declared Covid-19's "public health emergency" to end on May 11, after the daily death toll fell below 300, according to the CDC (open in new tab).

Despite the focus on the BYOC Mega LAN, there are other things to see and do at QuakeCon 2023, including community events, tabletop gaming, the QuakeCon Final Party, and the Quake World Championships. A full schedule will be announced "soon."