Quake lets you battle waves of enemies in brand-new Horde Mode, available now

What you need to know

• Legendary shooter Quake was recently remastered for several platforms, and now is enjoying various free improvements released over time.
• On Thursday, Bethesda Softworks and id Software revealed Horde Mode, a free update with single player, local split-screen, and online multiplayer.
• Horde Mode pits players against waves of increasingly difficult enemies, with weapon and power-up upgrades scattered around the map.
• Horde Mode is available now for free to all Quake players; more free add-ons are planned for the future.

The modern first-person shooter genre of video games is built on a foundation laid by titles like Quake, a game that still holds up in many ways today. Bethesda Softworks and id Software recently remastered the original Quake on several platforms with modern amenities and features, and is continuing to improve the classic shooter with free add-ons and updates. On Thursday, Bethesda announced the latest addition to Quake: Horde Mode.

Horde Mode is an all-new game mode for Quake, and it's available now for all players, completely for free. In Horde Mode, players will scavenge the map for upgraded weapons and power-ups while battling wave after wave of increasingly challenging enemies. You can play Horde Mode either by yourself, or in co-op using local split-screen or online multiplayer.

With DOOM Eternal—an epic shooter in its own right—now complete, studio id Software is rumored to be working on something new. This newfound focus on the original Quake, including adding fresh content to it, may deepen community speculation that a new Quake game is in the works, but nothing has been confirmed yet. In the meantime, the newly revived Quake is among the best Xbox games if you're a fan of the classic shooters that give the genre its roots.

Quake Horde Mode is available now, alongside the free "Honey" add-on and a new Ranger skin for DOOM Eternal players on Nintendo Switch.