id today announced surprise changes to Quake Champions amid Xbox's new layoffs and restructuring plans.
Quake Champions has dropped its free-to-play status and is now being sold as a paid game on Steam. The pricing is pretty reasonable, with the online shooter listed at $9.99, and id has also removed all paid microtransactions from the game while unlocking all playable characters and cosmetics from the store.
Existing players are grandfathered into the free-ninety-nine price tag, meaning if you played Quake Champions F2P, you can still play this version for free. "We're transitioning Quake Champions from a free-to-play game to a paid title on Steam only. Good news to anyone who's played the game on Steam: you've already been automatically upgraded to this paid version for free!"
id clarifies that the upgrade is also available to gamers who played Quake Champions via the Microsoft Store, but these users will have had to have already linked their Bethesda.net accounts to their Microsoft accounts before today in order to qualify. Refunds are also available for gamers who purchased the game's premium Platinum currency in the last 60 days.
The studio has released a new 1.31 version patch that flips the paid switch while also making a bevy of changes and updates to gameplay and optimization.
As for future content...that may not happen.
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What does the 1.31 patch change besides switching Quake Champions to a paid title?
Are all Champions and cosmetics unlocked for every player in the new version?
Do any microtransactions or Battle Passes still exist after the 1.31 update?
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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. If you previously played Quake Champions on Steam, the new version will appear in your Steam Library at no additional cost.
