Naturally, Quake’s 25th birthday is kind of a big deal, so Bethesda is celebrating the only way that makes sense: by adding content from the original game to Quake Champions. The game’s summer update, which is slated to release in early July, will add the classic DM6 map, The Dark Zone, to Quake Champions. In addition to the map itself, the update will also add several weapons from the original Quake that players can unlock and use.

In addition to the in-game updates, Bethesda is also planning to create several retrospectives on the series, as well as interview several of the developers who worked on it. My money’s on Quake designer John Romero showing up at some point, as well.

For full details on what Bethesda’s planning for Quake’s 25th birthday, you can head here.

Fallout and The Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda Softworks has announced a new office opening in Moscow, Russia. The new office will help with Bethesda’s current roster of games, and presumably with future titles. Simeon Chirikov is managing director, and along with experience at Electronic Arts, he’s also worked at Wargaming, which developed the popular World of Tanks.

The Moscow office will have other functions – along with overseeing sales in Russia and CIS, it will also handle marketing. In a recent statement, Bethesda Europe managing director Sean Brennan stated, “The opening of the office in Moscow is a very exciting moment for Bethesda.

“We have an incredible roster of upcoming games including Fallout 76, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, RAGE 2, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, Wolfenstein: Youngblood and DOOM Eternal, as well as a number of live titles that continue to perform well including The Elder Scrolls Online, Quake Champions, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends. Simeon’s extensive knowledge of the Russian and CIS markets will help us to maximize and deliver upon all these titles’ potential.”

This will be Bethesda’s ninth office worldwide, joining key publishing locations like London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, and so on. Currently, Bethesda Game Studios is working on Fallout 76, which will be going into beta on October 23rd for Xbox One and October 30th for PS4 and PC. The game will officially launch on November 14th, but the studio also has Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 in development for the future.

While we’ve already seen characters from other franchises in Quake Champions, such as the Doom Slayer from, well, DOOM, and William “BJ” Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein, we’ve always wondered if more characters from different series would show up in the game. And it’s always seemed like a possibility- after all, the people over at id Software have stated in the past that they would like to see more characters from Bethesda titles crossing over into the online shooter. Now, in a recent interview, id’s Community Developer Joshua Boyle has also spoken more about the possibility of bringing characters from Bethesda’s games.

While speaking with IGN, it certainly seemed like Boyle was keen about bringing crossover characters to the game. He stated that there is currently no FPS title with crossover characters, and there definitely seems to be a market for that. He also discussed bringing in some very unique maps to the game as well. As of now, neither of these prospects are out of the realm of possibility.

Boyle stated, “As soon as I got hired on, I was like ‘we’re doing that, right?’… This is something that somehow hasn’t existed in FPS, and we have such a great space for it… Arena [shooters] aren’t that different than how it is in Smash, where it’s like ‘this is the theme of Animal Crossing or this is the theme of that game,’ but we haven’t gone too nuts yet with maps at all, and I’m not saying we will or we won’t. I think already the proof is in the pudding, in the sense that we’re not just stuck to all these different Quake franchise [characters] that are from different iterations of Quake. We’ve already got Doom and we’ve already got B.J. in, which are obviously id pillars, right? It’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility that, you know — Bethesda and ZeniMax have a very wide umbrella that we’re all under. It’s definitely, I’d say, in high consideration.”

We’ll just have to wait and see if there are further developments regarding varied maps and crossover characters in Quake Champions. The game is currently in Early Access on Steam, but about a month ago, was free to download (permanently) for a week’s duration. Did you get in on it? Tell us in your comments.

DOOM and Wolfenstein may be the classic id Software franchises that get all the attention, but Bethesda has actually done a pretty marvellous job of bringing back Quake as well, as the multiplayer hero shooter Quake Champions.

Quake Champions has been available in Early Access for a while, and while that hasn’t changed yet, Bethesda is now going to make it free to play for everyone- at least for a while. For this week, from June 10 to June 17, you can download the game from Steam for free- and if you do, you get to keep it forever, no strings attached. But if you don’t get it by then, well, it goes without saying you can’t get it for free anymore.

It’s a fun game, and since it’s free, there’s no harm in checking it out- even if you don’t have a PC, you can redeem the game, and just play it if you ever do end up with a rig capable of running it. It’s no lose all around, basically.

Bethesda has announced that Quake Champions, its free to play multiplayer shooter on PC, will soon be getting bots- which should make it more palatable to those who want to play it, but who shy away at the prospect of playing with others. Bots will be highly sophisticated, being able to pull off all the tricks and maneuvers that players can. To ensure they’re not too intimidating, players will be able to set on of six difficulty levels for them on a sliding scale.

Interestingly enough, an offline mode itself has not yet been confirmed for the game- so the bots will slot into multiplayer games instead. I have to imagine that an offline mode against just the bots is coming soon, especially since the actual hard part is now done and out of the way.

Quake Champions is available now, exclusively on PC. You can check out the video with technical director John Dean announcing the introduction of bots to the game below.

Bethesda Softworks revealed details about some upcoming content to Quake Champions during PAX East which had taken place recently. An upcoming update will add some major changes to the game including a new champion called Strogg, a new map called ‘Awoken’, along with other changes. The company also discussed the eSports competitions that they will be hosting for the game.

The new hero Strogg will come with a sidekick called Peeker which is an AI drone which players can control to fire explosives at enemies. Enemies killed by Strogg will leave behind an nutritional paste called Stroylent that increases the champion’s health. However, you’ll have to be careful as an enemy Strogg champion could steal this paste when possible. The new map called ‘Awoken’ will be available in the following modes: Duel, Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Instagib, and 2v2. There’s also lots to look forward to in terms of eSports competition as the company has announced that they will be hosting 4 such eSports events.

The first of these will be held at Dreamhack Tours for a prize pool of $50,000. The other tournaments include the one at this year’s QuakeCon, an event at PGL in October, and the Quake Champions Invitational which will begin in December. There will also be various other online events held throughout the year.

You can check out the new trailer introducing the new Champion below.

Call of Duty 2018

A new Call of Duty will be releasing this year. Surprise, surprise. Given how we know Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have had their turn, Activision would confirm that Treyarch is up next. Even more surprises! Now, the rumours that this may be Call of Duty: Black Ops 4? Even less surprising but it would be interesting to see where the franchise goes, especially given the augmented reality/mind-jacking mess that was Black Ops 3.

Star Citizen

Star Citizen is going to be amazing…when it’s finally done. Imagine a huge open universe to explore with large space ships (which you can captain), first person shooter levels with zero gravity, unique planets with their own culture and laws and of course, the freedom to do whatever. That’s not even taking the single-player component Squadron 42 into account which boasts hours of story and features high profile actors like Mark Hamill and Gillian Anderson.

Quake Champions offers a variety of options for monetization, including purchasing and free to play options. The free to play version allows the player to use The Ranger, and purchase other heroes much like Killer Instinct. The game is not expected to launch on consoles due to hardware limitations and the focus on fast pace that demands the mouse and keyboard.

• 1. Development
• 2. Gameplay
• 3. Characters

Development

At an early point in the development of Quake Champions, then going by the project title ‘Lovecraft’, the game was originally considered as an expansion to Quake Live, itself a 2010 remade version of Quake III Arena, itself a 1999 game that has remained popular on the e-Sports circuits. As they played with the expansion idea, the development of DOOM 2016 caught their attention and the title moved into becoming its own thing, with Saber Interactive being brought in to assist with development.

Quake Champions was first announced at E3 2016 with a simple debut trailer outlining the intention of being a rebirth of the arena shooter and its e-Sports focus. The game would feature a large cast of playable characters each with their own unique skill set and due to the pace of the game and e-Sports focus, was announced as a PC only title. Because they wanted to focus all their efforts on creating a multiplayer shooter, there is no single player mode in Quake Champions.

Later at Quake-con 2016, creative director Tim Willits revealed that the game would run on a hybrid engine made up of id Tech and Saber Tech, instead of id Tech 6, which powered games like DOOM 2016. The unique engine meant that Quake Champions would not see a number of features from DOOM right out of the gate, such as Virtual Reality, Vulkan API, SnapMaps and Mod support, though the latter could come later. The game entered a closed beta period on April 6, 2017 and would enter Early Access on Steam as of August 23, 2017.

Even prior to launch, id has already begun introducing new characters to the roster, announcing at E3 2017 that William ‘B.J’ Blazkowicz from the Wolfenstein series would be playable, followed by the Doom Slayer from the Doom series, revealed in August.

Gameplay

While the game is very much rooted in the lovecraftian, gothic lore of the series, there is no single player story mode in the game, as that was not what the development team wanted to focus on.

Quake Champions is a multiplayer focused, competitive arena-style, character based shooter, taking inspiration primarily from past entries like Quake 3 Arena and the character driven abilities from the MOBA genre and games like Overwatch. The game has a selection of heroes (called Champions) to choose between, all with their own passive abilities and active abilities, which we will go in depth in a bit. The abilities are based on a counter system and players will have to discover how those intermingle. Character customization will be included, such as hats.

Unlike many modern shooters, there are no loadouts, instead making players find new weapons on the battlefield. Players choose to begin with either the Machine Gun, Shotgun or Nailgun, and can find the Heavy Machine Gun, Lightning Gun, Railgun, Super Nailgun, Super Shotgun and rocket launcher around the map. And because it wouldn’t be Quake without it, there is Rocket Jumping in the game.

The game will feature leagues and ranks, and modes will include 1V1 or free for all styles. Game types include Free-For-All, Sacrifice, Duel and Team Deathmatch, while also allowing custom games between friends. There are currently 8 different maps in the game.

Characters

Quake Champions is confirmed to release with 12 different heroes, though only 11 have currently been revealed.

The Quake Ranger is the starting champion that free players will always have access to. He is the most rounded of the champions, and has the passive ability “Son of a Gun” which means he takes 20% less self inflicted damage from any weapon. His active ability, the Dire Orb, is a multifunctional projectile.

Anarki is a transhuman champion who has replaced much of his body with cybernetic enhancements. He has a passive ability of Air-control, allowing him to change his movement direction while in midair, and an active ability to immediately restore his health and add an extra point to his health pool which he can build over a match.

B.J ‘Terror-Billy’ Blazkowicz from the Wolfenstein series joins as a playable character with the passive ability Blitz, which regenerates him to the nearest quarter of his health bar when he takes damage, and an active ability to Dual Wield, both mechanics adapted from recent Wolfenstein games.

Clutch is a mining automaton gone berserk and driven into the Nightmare. Something of a tank character, Clutch has a huge pool of health and slower movement. His three passive abilities are Still Defense, where he’ll take 20% less damage while standing still, Acceleration where he’ll move faster in a straight line, and dodge where double tapping in a direction will cause him to hop in that direction. His active abilities are Barrier Shield, where he generates a spherical shield and a Mining Drill, a version of the Lighting Gun with less damage but no ammo consumption.

The Doom Slayer is the second guest champion in the game, with a look and backstory straight out of DOOM 2016. His active ability is Berserk, where like in his home game, he’ll gain increased speed and be able to punch his enemies with enough force to cause them to explode into viscera. His passive abilities include his double jump and being a silent protagonist. Yes that is an ability, because he won’t be spouting off quips, he can better conceal his map presence.

Galena is a new character, implied to be from id’s Hexen universe. The closest thing the game has to a healer, her Active is Totem, which gives teammates and herself an instant 50 point health recovery within its radius, and kills any enemy caught within. Her passive will automatically reduce her cool down timer each time she picks up health bubbles.

Nyx is from a peaceable Melem people who sent away their greatest warrior, her. Their ability to phase into another dimension momentarily, or Ghost Walk, is her Active which allows her to move undetected and invulnerable for a short time. She can wall jump as her passive, offering her some extra mobility.

Scalebearer is a hulking beast of a fighter, Warlord from the marauding Greiss. He conquered countless worlds with the active ability Bull Rush, which sends him charging forward like a steam engine, and his Passive Heavyweight allows him to damage enemies with his weight alone if he’s moving fast enough.

Slash returns from Quake III Arena, and is just as crazy as before. Her active is a Plasma Trail which can damages anyone who enters it, and she can set it to explode. Her passive is the Quake 4 Slide.

Sorlag is a proud Sorg Warrior and the best hunter in her clan, returning from Quake III Arena. Her passive Bunnyhop allows mid air control changes of momentum and her active Acid spit does an area of effect acid attack. Visor is the result of Moscow’s GRU experimentation, able to use enhanced sight despite the mask covering his face. His Active, Piercing Sight allows him to see his opponents through walls for a short time, and his passive Grasshopper allows him to strafe jump.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

The holiday season has begun and Bethesda Softworks has announced that lots of new content  will be making their way to Quake Champions via a new update on December 14th. The first-person shooter game is still in Early Access and the update will introduce the new character Keel, a new map as well as ranked play.

Keel has been a recurring character in the series and a story trailer has also been released in time for his entry into the character roster. The new map, Vale of Pnath will be playable in Duel and 2V2 matches. Also, the game has finally received ranked matches and leaderboards which is an essential feature of a multiplayer shooter such as this one.

In time for the holiday season, holiday-themed items will also be made available in-game along with all these other features. You can check out below the story trailer and character artwork for Keel as well as a screenshot of the new map.