How many copies did Quake II sell? — 2024 statistics

Quake II has sold over 1 million units worldwide by 2002.

(Source: VGChartz)

• It was released on PC, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Xbox 360 
• Reached 240,913 copies sold in the U.S. by the end of 1997.
• U.S. sales reported at 550,000 units in January 1999, rising to 610,000 by December.

Quake II’s strong sales figures tell us that it was more than just a game; it became a cultural hit. By the time it hit a million sales worldwide, it had become a household name for gamers everywhere, a testament to its quality and the impact it had.

By the end of 1998, Quake II achieved sales of over 279,000 copies and generated $12.6 million in revenue within the United States.

• Surpassed 850,000 units shipped by April 1998, reaching 900,000 by June.
• Ranked #2 in U.S. computer game sales in December 1997, right after its release.
• It was the 22nd-best-selling computer game in the U.S. for 1997.

Quake II really made waves in the gaming world. By the close of ’98, it wasn’t just another title on the shelf—it was a mega-hit in the States, pulling in over a quarter of a million copies sold and a hefty chunk of change in revenue. The game blasted off to a killer start, grabbing the number two sales spot right at its launch. It kept that momentum too, racking up shipments and staying in the spotlight as a top-seller for the year. It just goes to show that when a game’s got it, it really takes off and keeps flying high.

Quake II budget was estimated to be around $2-3 million

• Activision obtained worldwide publishing rights in May 1997 for an undisclosed sum.
• Quake II is the first id game to support hardware acceleration out of the box using OpenGL.

With Quake II, the creators didn’t just throw money around; they put a sharp $2 to $3 million behind it, which wasn’t pocket change back then. They got Activision on board to push it out to gamers everywhere, but the real kicker? Quake II was cutting edge, the first of its kind to use OpenGL for smoother graphics right out of the box. It was a big bet on tech that totally paid off.

Quake II was developed by a team of 13 people at id Software.

• Full source code released in 2001 under GPL license.
• Inspired several commercial games that licensed the Quake II engine.
• Over 20 years after release, a ray-tracing remaster called Quake II RTX was released in 2019.

Quake II’s legacy is pretty wild. It started with just a baker’s dozen at id Software hammering out the code. They later shared the love, making the whole source code public in 2001, which was a big deal for tech heads and budding developers. It even sparked a bunch of games built on its engine. Fast forward over two decades, and they dropped a remastered version with ray-tracing, making this classic shine like new. Quake II RTX dropped in 2019, proving some games just keep getting better with age.