Quake is finally running on the original PlayStation thanks to a new PS1 port

Quake was everywhere in the mid-1990s. PC gamers had it. Sega Saturn owners got a version. Nintendo 64 players did too. But the original PlayStation never received an official release of id Software’s first Quake. Now someone is fixing that gap. The quake-psx project is bringing Quake to Sony’s first console as a native port written in Rust. It isn’t a remake, and it isn’t trying to fake the look of a PlayStation game on modern hardware. The goal is much simpler: get Quake running properly on the real machine, with the limits of the original PlayStation very much part of the job. And quite a lot already works.

Quake on hardware that never got it

Released on PC in 1996, Quake was a big technical jump for id Software. Doom had already pushed first-person shooters into the mainstream, but Quake moved the technology forward with fully 3D levels, polygonal enemies and a camera that could look freely around the environment.

It also changed multiplayer gaming. Quake’s network code, deathmatch support and fast movement helped shape the style of online PC shooters that followed. Console versions soon appeared, but the PlayStation story was different.

Lobotomy Software, the studio behind the Sega Saturn conversion, worked on a PlayStation version of Quake, but it never reached shops. Quake II eventually came to the system, while the first game remained missing. That’s what makes quake-psx interesting. It’s not porting a game that already existed on the machine. It’s building a version for hardware that never officially had one.

Written in Rust and built for the PS1

The project targets a resolution of 320×240, which is exactly the sort of output you’d expect from the console. Underneath, it has to deal with Quake’s BSP-based levels, sprites, moving geometry, water, skies and all the other pieces that make the original game behave like Quake. The current build already runs the full shareware episode. That means the start map plus E1M1 through E1M8.

Weapons are in place too. You can use the axe, shotguns, nailguns, grenade launcher, rocket launcher and lightning gun. The same goes for enemies such as Knights, Ogres, Wizards and Shamblers, along with the Chthon boss. That matters because a Quake port isn’t just about drawing corridors.

Doors need to open. Lifts have to move. Buttons need to trigger the right events. Teleporters, secrets, trains and level transitions all have to work. Collision has to feel right, and enemies need to behave properly inside those spaces. Much of that is already functioning.

The controls have been adapted for PlayStation pads

The control setup has also been adjusted for Sony hardware. Players can move using the D-pad or the left analogue stick, while DualShock users can look around with the right stick. Shoulder buttons handle weapon changes, and the remaining buttons cover actions such as firing, jumping and using switches.

Digital controllers still work, which is useful for anyone running the game on an original PlayStation without a DualShock. There are also two HUD layouts, positional sound and the familiar screen effects used for damage and pickups. So this isn’t just a map viewer with Quake graphics. It’s a playable version of the game.

Performance is still the big job

The project isn’t finished yet. Its target is 30 frames per second, but the current E1M1 benchmark sits at just under 22fps in the PSoXide development environment. That makes performance one of the main areas still being worked on.

That’s not surprising. Quake was demanding PC software in 1996, and the original PlayStation has a very different architecture. Getting the same game logic, rendering and effects to run smoothly means making careful trade-offs.

Testing has so far focused heavily on emulation. The developers have checked map loading, combat, monster behaviour, sound, triggers, moving objects and memory use. Visual test scenes are also being used to catch rendering problems.

Real hardware testing still needs a full pass, though. Emulators can get close, but they don’t always expose the same timing quirks or hardware behaviour as an actual PlayStation. A port like this really has to survive both.

The game data stays separate

The project also doesn’t bundle Quake’s original commercial files. Instead, the build system works with the Quake 1.06 shareware data and converts the required assets locally into formats the PlayStation version can use. That keeps the port itself separate from the copyrighted game content while still giving developers a practical way to build and test it.

Quake on PS1 is already more than a technical demo

At this point, quake-psx looks like a real port rather than an early experiment. The full first episode runs. Weapons work. Enemies work. Levels behave properly. Audio, menus and PlayStation controls are already there.

What’s left is mostly the difficult part: getting performance up, tightening the code and proving that everything behaves properly on real hardware. For a game that never officially made it to the original PlayStation, that’s a fairly solid place to be.

Spread the love