Summary
Arena shooterQuake Championshas seen a massive spike in player count recently, rising almost 300% above the game’s monthly average. The free-to-play shooter based onQuaketypically sees an average of 500 concurrent players, but over the weekend that number has risen to nearly 2,000.
Quake Championsis an arena-based hero shooter that combines the classic, fast-paced arcade combat ofQuakegames with a contemporary twist in the form of “champions,” which are various characters to choose from, each with their own abilities and playstyles. The game sat in early access for a long time, before being fully released in August 2022. In that time, that game has not seen much growthdespiteQuake Championsbeing free-to-play, but for some reason, the player count for the game recently rocket-jumped from its usual numbers, with a 24-hour peak of 1,943 and a current player count of 1,753 at the time of writing.
As reported by PCGamesN,Quake Championsis currently seeing a surprising peak in player count. While speculation, hype, andrumors fly around regarding the possibility of a newQuakegame, some fans are occupying their time with this modern arcade shooter, and it isn’t exactly clear why. The latest major update for the game, season 24, was released on September 12. The game has always been free-to-play, so there was no sale to bring players in, and it hasn’t peaked on Twitch or been covered by a big YouTuber recently. Despite this, the game rose from 508 players to 1,909 in the space of an hour on September 22, and these numbers persisted throughout the following day.
Quake Champions Sees a Huge Player Spike
Quakeis a series that arguably helped kickstart the popularity of the FPS genre, but has since faded into the background as id Software and Bethesda have worked on other titles. While an increase of 1,500 players may not seem like much, it’s a relatively large spike forQuake Champions. From deeper investigation as to where these numbers came from,a thread on r/QuakeChampionstalks about a 2v2 tournament that was held on September 22, with a money prize as a reward. The tournament was open to all players and coincided with whenQuake Champions' player count spiked. Despite the tournament being over 24 hours ago, the game has managed to retain the increased player count since then, suggesting that the tournament and the surrounding hype potentially brought some old-school fans out of the woodwork.
A game can only be as lively as its community, and this is especially true for multiplayer titles such asQuake Champions. This isn’t the first time that agame’s passionate community has helped keep it aliveor revitalized its popularity, and is a warming reminder that as long as there are dedicated fans, games can never truly die.
Quake Champions
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Developed by id Software, in conjunction with Saber Interactive, Quake Champions is a fast-paced arena shooter that combines the dark mythos of the original Quake with the skill-based competition of Quake III Arena, and then adds a twist—Champions, each with unique attributes and abilities for you to master.Quake’s signature rocket jumping, skill-based competition, and incredible speed remains intact, providing veterans with a welcome return and new players a fresh way to showcase their multiplayer skills. Quake Champions introduces 16 elite Champions, each equipped with unique attributes and abilities to fit your play style. The entire roster of Champions can be unlocked within the game.Quake’s devastating arsenal of flesh-chewing weaponry, including fan-favorites like the thunderous Rocket Launcher, electrifying Lightning Gun, and snipe-tastic Railgun are back alongside new additions for you to master.Established and beloved game modes return, including the gib-filled fragfests of Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch and the competitive fury of 1v1 Duel mode, while a new team-based mode, Sacrifice, joins the fray.
