Quake Champions is now permanently free to play

At QuakeCon earlier today, Bethesda announced that Quake Champions, the game it launched as an early access title last year, is now available for free. The game will remain free for the entirety of its existence, giving everyone the chance to play the latest evolution of Quake, the hit shooting game originally launched in 1996.Quake Champions is a first-person shooter that initially launched as a beta in 2017, later arriving as a Steam Early Access game. The title was developed by id Software and published by Bethesda, with the studio having previously said that it would make the game free to play. That promise applied to the game's eventual full launch, which took place today.

The announcement was made by id Studio Director Tim Willits at QuakeCon 2018 today, where it was revealed that anyone can go download the free edition now. However, serious fans also have the option of buying a pack to unlock all of the Champions directly for $29.99. There's a discount in place via Steam over the next few days that brings the price down to $19.79.

In a statement to IGN Willits reveled that the Champions Pack may end up being a limited time offer. Anyone who purchases it will automatically get any future Champions that are released, though. The formerly available Starter Pack is no longer offered.

Quake Champions is available now on Steam and through Bethesda.net.