Bethesda has unveiled the next Quake game, titled Quake Champions.
The game was announced with a CGI trailer (below), but little in the way of gameplay or even details was given. It does sound as though the MOBA genre and – most recently – Overwatch, has had an influence on Quake Champions.
Studio director of id Software, Tim Willits, explains that Quake Champions is “a competitive arena-style first-person shooter for the PC designed for players of all skill levels.
“Whether you are new to Quake or have been fragging for the last 20 years, Quake Champions will give you the challenge and rush you’d expect from iD Software multiplayer games.”
He went on to add that Quake Champions will feature a “diverse cast of warriors”, each with different attributes and unique abilities. So, like Overwatch then. The competitive gaming angle will be significant, however. “id has a long tradition of supporting competitive tournaments,” says Willits, adding that “the game is designed for world-class eSports play at every level.”
This is good news for fans of classic first-person shooters, however. Quake Live remains a popular eSport, its high-speed, twitch-based combat making for thrilling and incredibly tense matches.
While it does sound like Quake Champions will take a different direction for the series, the emphasis on eSports should hopefully mean it’ll be a game filled with exciting moments – both as players and spectators.
id Software was recently praised for Doom, too, a game whose classic feel was, by and large, complimented by gamers and the gaming press. Hopefully the developer won’t be messing with the formula too much, and will be paying attention to what makes Quake Live so interesting to watch.
While we’re not expecting a lot of news out of E3 2016 – at least for eSports fans – we’ll be sure to cover anything as and when it drops.