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Quake Champions
Updated for v1.31 — verified Sep 24, 2026
Quake Champions is a fast-paced arena FPS built on rocket jumps, item timing and 16 Champions with their own health, armor and active abilities. It stopped being free to play on 23 September 2026: one $9.99 purchase on Steam now unlocks every Champion and most of the vanity catalogue, with the in-game store, the Battle Pass and all currencies removed.
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ChampionsOriginal typographic panel
Checked facts · 1.31 Point Release
- PlatformWindows on Steam
- Price$9.99 USDas of 2026-09-24
- Full releaseAug 18, 2022
- Current version1.31 Point Releaseas of 2026-09-24
- Online now213as of 2026-09-24
- 24h peak582as of 2026-09-24
Final version1.31 Point ReleaseA · Steam News 2026-09-23
Today’s update marks a new chapter for Quake Champions as we transition the game from a free-to-play service to a paid application on Steam. Along with 30 Seasons worth of content to enjoy, all Champions are now unlocked for everyone, and most vanity content is available to equip. Battle Passes and microtransactions have been removed. Quake Champions is now available for one low price on Steam. No additional content updates are planned at this time.
Change trigger A new first-party announcement on Steam News or the Bethesda 1.31 FAQ. Until then, any page that still calls Quake Champions free to play, or still lists a Battle Pass, is out of date.
The game
What is Quake Champions?
Quake Champions is an arena first-person shooter from id Software, co-developed with Saber Interactive and published by Bethesda Softworks. It entered early access in August 2017, ran free to play from August 2018, and reached its full release on 18 August 2022. It has only ever shipped on Windows, and the Microsoft Store edition was retired on 23 September 2026.
The 1.31 Point Release on 23 September 2026 ended that era. Quake Champions is now a paid app on Steam only, and a single purchase unlocks every Champion plus most of the vanity catalogue. Battle Passes, weekly and event challenges, the in-game store, Platinum, Shards, Loot Boxes and daily login rewards were all removed in the same update, and Bethesda’s own wording is that “no additional content updates are planned at this time”.
The store listing enumerates what the final build contains: 16 Champions, 27 maps, 97 Champion outfits, 201 Champion vanities, 107 weapon vanities, 491 profile icons, 139 nameplates and 12 podiums. Achievements cover the same ground, and everything except a handful of third-party entitlements is equippable by every player now.
Coverage note: Official counts are 16 Champions and 27 maps. This site documents all 16 Champions by name but only 26 map names, because the community level list and the store figure differ by one; the gap is shown rather than padded. Weapon damage values and per-map item layouts are not published by id Software, so those tables stay labelled unverified.
| Checked facts | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | id Software | A · Steam store API |
| Co-developer | Saber Interactive | A · Steam store API |
| Publisher | Bethesda Softworks | A · Steam store API |
| Genre | Arena FPS | A · Steam store API |
| Early access | Aug 22, 2017 | C · Wikipedia |
| All-time peak | 17,332as of 2026-09-24 | B · SteamCharts |
| Champions | 16 | A · Steam store API |
| Maps | 27 | A · Steam store API |
| Achievements | 52 | A · Steam store API |
| User reviews | 73.9% of 39,099as of 2026-09-24 | A · Steam reviews API |
| Storage required | 40 GB | A · Steam store API |
← Swipe wide tables sideways to see every column →
Database
What do you need to look up?
Champions
Weight class, health and armor caps, active abilities
8 LISTEDWeapons
Role and ammo type; source counts still conflict
27 OFFICIALMaps
Names and the 1.31 layout changes
10 TIMERSItem timers
Respawn and despawn times after 1.31
— VANITYSkins
Vanity, plus the retired Ruby Nyx skin
17,332 ALL-TIME PEAKPlayer count
Concurrent, 24-hour peak and all-time peak
as of 2026-09-24Quick Answers
Quake Champions FAQ
Is Quake Champions free to play?
No. Since the 1.31 Point Release on 23 September 2026 it is a paid app on Steam, listed at $9.99 USD. It was free to play from 10 August 2018 until that update.
I already played it for free. Do I have to pay again?
No. If you played on Steam before 23 September 2026 the paid version is already in your library at no cost, and your level, stats and cosmetics carry over. Microsoft Store players get Steam access through Bethesda.net account linking, and the Microsoft Store edition itself has been retired.
Is Quake Champions still being updated?
No. Bethesda’s 1.31 announcement states that “No additional content updates are planned at this time”, and 1.31 shipped on 23 September 2026 as the game’s final version. A later first-party announcement is the only thing that would change that answer.
Do I still have to unlock Champions?
No. Every one of the 16 Champions is unlocked for all players after 1.31 and the currencies that used to gate them have been removed. Only a few third-party entitlements, such as the AMD Ruby Nyx skin for Nyx, stay hidden unless you already own them.
Is Quake Champions the same game as Quake Live or Quake III Arena?
No. Quake III Arena is the 1999 arena shooter whose movement this game borrows, and Quake Live is a later online version of Quake III Arena. Quake Champions is a separate 2017 release that adds Champion abilities and is sold as its own Steam app.
Does Quake Champions have bots?
Yes. Bots are built into practice, custom games and the Humans vs Bots playlist, and 1.31 improved them: they now dodge incoming rockets, manage their own health, and carry a visible Level 0 mark on the scoreboard so new players can tell them apart.
Why does the Steam page still show a Free to Play tag?
Because the store’s community tag list has not been cleaned up. Steam still lists both Free to Play and Early Access on this app even though the game is paid and left early access in 2022, so the price block is the part to trust.