When Quake Champions was initially revealed there was some worry based on the name and the mentions of special abilities that it wouldn’t be the Arena shooter remembered from the 90s. In an interview with id director Tim Willits, he confirmed that it is definitely not a MOBA, though didn’t expand on exactly how large a role the player abilities would have. He also said that no console version is planned, as they want to focus on PC to make Champions as close to Quake Live as possible while building on it with modern gameplay.
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The interview was with German YouTuber Rocket Beans TV and covered a number of community concerns. Here’s the highlights:
- It’s really, really not a MOBA.
- The champions are a natural evolution of Quake and the genre, and don’t change the fundamental gameplay. They will bring in new players put provide more things for pros to master.
- It’s still aimed to be a high-speed, twitchy, bloody, mature game. Wasn’t inspired by Overwatch.
- Pro Quake Live players have been contacted about the game, and some have been brought in to play it and they said it was good.
- The aim is to make a modern version of Quake Live with all the same esports-focused features. Still has spectator modes, competitive servers, rocket jumping and air-control, but in a new engine.
- No console version is planned. “We want no excuses, no limitations.”
- Unlocked, 120hz framerates are important for pro play, hence them targetting it as default.
- Holy trinity still in – Rocket Launcher, Railgun, Lightning Gun.
- The game will soft-launch in an expanding closed beta, so that when it comes out it’s as good as it can be.
Here’s the full interview: