Quake Champions exits free-to-play, becomes £9 premium title on Steam

Quake Champions is leaving free-to-play behind. The competitive shooter, which has operated as a free-to-play title for nearly a decade, is now available as a premium £9 game on Steam, with all monetisation systems removed.

Battle passes, loot boxes, premium currencies, and the in-game store are gone. Players who participated in free Steam events previously will be automatically upgraded to the full version. Anyone who purchased premium currency in the last two months will receive a refund.

The change coincides with significant upheaval at id Software. Microsoft laid off over 3,200 developers across Xbox in recent weeks, with id Software hit in the first wave. The studio saw more than 100 staff members fired. Following the layoffs, parent company Zenimax is concentrating resources on its largest franchises, leading id to cancel projects including Perfect Dark and new series in development.

Alongside the free-to-play removal, id has implemented gameplay updates including a new Callvote System to remove cheaters and abusive players, network performance improvements, and bug fixes. The studio has also reduced the number of data centres to consolidate server populations, though this may result in fewer regional server options or increased latency for some players.

The development team stated that "no additional content updates are planned at this time," suggesting limited runway for the game moving forward. While converting to a premium model preserves Quake Champions rather than shutting it down entirely, the updates must be viewed against Xbox's broader consolidation efforts toward a smaller portfolio of flagship franchises.