● Covered by 2 sources · 2 reportsLow impact1 negative1 neutral
id Software's Quake Shareware CD-ROM distribution model failed due to rapid cracking
Key points
- Quake shareware CD-ROM released in August 1996.
- CD contained encrypted full versions of id Software's game catalog.
- Hackers released a decryption tool 39 days later.
- The retail shareware experiment proved disastrous for id Software.
- The Quake shareware CD cost $10.
- The CD contained 22MB of game data and 618MB unused space.
- Fabien Sanglard, a Google software engineer, recounted the story.
- id Software was left with 150,000 unsold discs.
The CD-ROM Era and Game Distribution
In the mid-1990s, CD-ROM drives became a popular PC accessory, offering 640 MiB of storage, significantly more than hard drives of the time. This capacity allowed for multimedia content like high-resolution images, VOC soundtracks, and early video. For game developers, the large capacity presented a challenge, as game assets often did not fill the discs. Some developers used the space for Full Motion Video or high-quality music.
id Software's Quake Shareware Experiment
Following the completion of Quake in June 1996, id Software decided to release both a shareware and a full version of the game. Given Quake's relatively small 22 MiB size, id Software opted to use the remaining CD-ROM capacity to include encrypted versions of their entire game catalog. The idea was to allow gamers to purchase the shareware, then call an 800 number to order and receive a password to unlock the full games, bypassing traditional retailers.
Rapid Cracking and Distribution Failure
The Quake shareware CD was announced on July 3, 1996, and released on August 30. However, just 39 days later, the hacker group GNOMON released "Quakecrk.zip," containing a tool named QCRACK.EXE that could decrypt every game on the CD-ROM. This allowed users to access the full versions of the games without payment. The rapid circumvention of their copy protection, coupled with difficulties in managing distribution and order fulfillment, led to the failure of id Software's retail shareware experiment.
Updates
- The Quake shareware CD cost $10.
- The CD contained 22MB of game data and 618MB unused space.
- Fabien Sanglard, a Google software engineer, recounted the story.
- id Software was left with 150,000 unsold discs.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
In 1996, id Software released a Quake shareware CD that included encrypted full versions of its other games, intended to be unlocked via a pay-by-phone system. This digital rights management (DRM) scheme was compromised by hackers within 39 days, rendering the unlock system ineffective. The failure highlights early challenges in software copy protection and the rapid pace of security bypasses.
In 1996, id Software released a shareware version of Quake on CD-ROM, which included encrypted full versions of their game catalog, intended to be unlocked via a phone call and credit card. This distribution model failed when hackers quickly released a tool to decrypt all games on the CD, allowing users to access them for free.