Quake Champions is a multiplayer-focused first-person shooter, and a game in the Quake series. Released into Steam Early Access on August 23, 2017, the game left early access on August 18, 2022.^[1]

Story

Quake Champions takes place in the Dreamlands, a series of dimensions under the domain of many different Elder Gods. Present are many characters, known as Champions, who found their way into the Dreamlands through supernatural means, where they are trapped.

A character known as Wendell Gilman serves the main villain of Quake Champions, the man responsible for many of the events in the stories of the Quake series and the Champions' stories. Gilman made his first appearance in the Quake Champions comics.

The story and lore of Quake Champions is told through many Lore Scrolls. Lore Scrolls tell the stories of Champions, Elder Gods, and the Lost Ones.

Gameplay

Quake Champions is a PC-exclusive, multiplayer-only game, described as a "competitive arena-style, character-based shooter."^[2] Based on the gameplay of Quake III Arena and Quake Live, it takes inspiration from the original Quake for its visual design. The selectable characters (referred to as "champions") all have passive abilities (e.g. extra speed),^[3] and active abilities (e.g. ghost walking)^[4] but otherwise the core style of gameplay remains the same.^[3]

Active abilities can be activated with a button press, and have a cooldown between use that lasts roughly 30-45 seconds; the specific length varies by champion,^[4], although items can be collected to reduce this cooldown time. The abilities are based on a rock-paper-scissors system, where certain abilities have natural counters; It's up to players to discover which champions work best together.^[5] It's intended that, abilities aside, a player's skill is the determining feature in loss or victory.^[4]

Loadouts do not feature.^[3] The game features leagues and ranks, and its modes include duels and deathmatch, but also team-based play. The game was intended to have an e-sports presence, and to become an event at QuakeCon.^[6] Because of the presence of abilities, QC has more of an emphasis on team-based modes rather than 1v1 or free-for-all gameplay when compared to Quake III Arena.

Game Types

Quickplay Modes:

• Free-for-all^[4]
• Team Deathmatch^[4]
• Sacrifice
• Slipgate
• Capture the Flag

Arcade Modes:

• Instagib (Team and FFA)
• Unholy Trinity (Team and FFA)
• Hot Rockets

Ranked Modes:

• Duel
• 2v2 Team Deathmatch

Custom games are also implemented, with a variety of different modifiers available to the host.

Champions

16 characters are featured. More champions, maps and realms were datamined^[7] but have not been released.

Champions

Anarki

 

Athena

 

B.J. Blazkowicz

 

Clutch

 

Death Knight

 

Doom Slayer

 

Eisen

 

Galena

 

Keel

 

Nyx

 

Ranger

 

Scalebearer

 

Slash

 

Sorlag

 

Strogg & Peeker

 

Visor

 

Unreleased Champions

Multiple Champions had work done on them prior to Saber ceasing their partnership with Id. Development also restarted on select champions in early 2026. Multiple unreleased champions have been revealed through unlockable profile icons in-game. These icons depict the concept art for various champions.

• In Development
  • Wrack

• Development Ceased
  • Hunter
  • Raine
  • Beastmaster
  • Klesk
  • Xaero
  • Unumrey
  • Sarge

Weapon List

All players spawn with the Gauntlet and one starting weapon (which can be selected by the player pre-spawn). Other weapons are collected around the maps, unless playing the Instagib or Unholy Trinity game mode. Weapon Skins and paint colors are available for purchase in the in-game store.

Starter Weapons

Gauntlet

 

Machine
Gun

 

Shotgun

 

Nailgun

Pickup Weapons

Heavy
Machine Gun

 

Super
Shotgun

 

Super
Nailgun

 

Tri-bolt

 

Rocket
Launcher

 

Lightning
Gun

 

Railgun

 

Maps

• Dimension of the Doomed (Elder God: Goroth)
  • Burial Chamber
  • Citadel
  • Corrupted Keep
  • Crucible
  • The Molten Falls
• The Realm of Black Magic (Elder God: Volkerh)
  • Blood Covenant
  • Blood Run
  • Church of Azathoth
  • Insomnia
  • The Longest Yard
• The Netherworld (Elder God: Ithagnal)
  • Lockbox
  • The Dark Zone
  • Tower of Koth
  • Vale of Pnath
• The Elder World (Elder God: Chtalha )
  • Awoken
  • Deep Embrace
  • Ruins of Sarnath
  • Tempest Shrine
• The Rift (Elder God: The Lurching King)
  • Exile

• The Corridors of Time (Elder God: Nekelmuset and Sar Sarru)
  • Cursed Soul

Achievements

There are 52 achievements for Quake Champions on Steam. For more info on them, check Achievements#Quake Champions.

Payment Model

The game uses a free-to-play model. All players have access to Ranger for free, and to Scalebearer after completing the tutorial. Otherwise, players can purchase the Champions Pack, which will give them access to all champions for an unlimited point of time, or they can spend in-game currency called "favor" to 'rent' champions for a timed period. Those who purchase the Champions Pack and those who use the free-to-play model aren't divided between matches. The Champions Pack is considered the de facto pay-to-play option; the equivalent of purchasing a full game from the outset.^[8] It has been indicated that the pack may be limited in its availabilityTemplate:Citation needed.

Starter packs can also be purchased separately, which allow players to purchase champions and other enhancements incrementally.

The game features a loot box system, where cosmetics can be purchased through in-game currency or real-world money.^[9] There are two in-game currencies: Platinum and Shards. Both can be earned in small amounts from daily challenges (such as winning 3 matches or getting an Excellent medal), or purchased with real-world money in the in-game shop. Cosmetics and lore scrolls can also be unlocked via the in-game progression system, with a paid "Battle Pass" tier offering improved unlockables over the base "free" tier.

For QuakeCon's 25th anniversary, all champions could be unlocked for free by playing a match during QuakeCon 2020.^[10]

Development

The game went under the codename of "Lovecraft" during development.^[3] The concept of the game existed as early as 2013, as the developers looked at what could be done to build off Quake Live. As they started to play around with some prototyping with the Quake Live engine and the game, the developers took note of the development of Doom. Saber Interactive was brought on to work on the game, as the project became separate from Quake Live.

QC was revealed to the public by Bethesda at E3 2016.^[2] The game entered closed beta on April 6th 2017, with the developers aiming for final release in the same year.^[6] The Beta launched with over a dozen champions playable.^[11]

The game runs on a hybrid engine (the name of which is unknown) designed by both id and Saber.^[11]

The "Sacrifice" game mode has gone through four iterations as of 2017.^[4]

By August 2016, the game's payment model was still being determined.^[12] In March 2017, it was announced that the game would use a free-to-play model.^[8] On August 10, 2018, QC became a free-to-play game.^[13]

After years in Early Access, the game eventually 'released' on August 18, 2022.^[1]

Reception

As of June 2026, the game averages a few hundred daily players on Steam.^[14]

Gallery

Videos

Quake Champions E3 2018 – Play free for a limited time!

References

External Links

• Homepage
• Steam Store Link