Aspyr to publish Quake 4 for Macintosh

Aspyr Media on Thursday announced plans to publish Quake 4 for the Macintosh. The first-person shooter is expected to be released in early 2006.

Quake 4 is the sequel to Quake II — a futuristic shooter in which players assume the role of Matthew Kane as he penetrates the stronghold of a barbaric alien race called the Strogg. (Quake III Arena emphasized arena-based gameplay specifically — it didn’t continue the Quake storyline.) The game is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

Quake 4, built on the same engine that powers Doom 3, also incorporates a strong multiplayer component — its multiplayer competition has been modeled after the speed, feel and style of Quake III Arena, according to the developers. Quake 4 was originally developed by Raven Software and produced by id Software.

Aspyr has not yet released system requirements for the forthcoming game.