How to Host a Quake LAN Party on a Raspberry Pi

Quake is one of the greatest multiplayer gaming experiences you will find. The follow-up to Doom is essentially a first-person shooter but also features a stunning multiplayer (co-op and versus) mode.

Like an FPS Fortnite, Quake delivers a memorable gaming experience. And you don’t need to pay for an expensive server (or lug a PC around as in the old days) to play it.

You can host Quake multiplayer sessions on a humble Raspberry Pi.

How Does Quake Run on a Raspberry Pi?

As you may know, Quake was first released in the late 1990s, and its sequels in the early 2000s. It was available on standard Windows PCs with Intel processors.

So, how does it run on a Raspberry Pi, with its Linux-based OS and ARM processor? Well, it’s thanks to the open source philosophy.

Code for Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3 Arena was released by developers id Software back in 2012. You can find the source code for these games on id Software’s GitHub. Because the code is open source, anyone can view it and make changes to enable new features.

In the meantime, the code has been rebuilt to run on other operating systems, including Linux. It has also been officially released on Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox, and other platforms.

Which Pi Model Is Best for Quake?

Quake can run on any Raspberry Pi, from the original SBC all the way up to the Raspberry Pi 4.

For the most impressive results from multiplayer Quake, you need a Raspberry Pi 4. As the most advanced Raspberry Pi to date, this model can handle solo and multiplayer sessions.

Failing this, the Raspberry Pi 3 is also suitable for running a Quake multiplayer server.

In addition, there is also a version of Quake on LAN that is optimized for the Raspberry Pi Zero.

Read More: How to Host a Quake LAN Party on a Raspberry Pi – MakeUseOf