Is Quake 2 a Sequel to Quake?

Quake 2 is back, remastered and packed with extra content. It may have been the worst kept secret, but if you’ve got fond memories of this 1997 shooter or just wanted to see what the fuss was about, here’s your chance to dive in. And if you’re wondering if this game is a sequel to Quake, I’ve got the answer.

Here’s How Quake 2 Ties Into the Original Quake

Quake 2 isn’t a sequel to Quake, at least as far as the story goes. It’s from iD Software, who also made Quake, but has nothing to do with the events of the original. Instead of taking on some Lovecraftian entity, you’re battling an alien race known as the Stroggs.

The Strogg are part machine, part flesh and turn those they capture into more Stroggs. They’re like Star Trek’s Borg but a little messier. Your marine is the sole survivor of an attempted invasion of Planet Strogg, so it’s up to you to blast your way to their leader.

The game also uses a different engine, the Quake 2 engine so, really, the only connection is that both are first-person shooters and that iD Software developed both. It’s more accurate to call this game a follow-up.

Quake 3 Arena was something else entirely, a multiplayer arena shooter with its own threadbare plot. iD Software did eventually continue the Strogg storyline with 2005’s Quake 4. 

So, Quake 2 is not a sequel to Quake, more a follow-up, with no connection to the original’s story.