While Dallas' PC gaming convention QuakeCon has stayed strong year after year, it's been nearly seven years since the last game bearing the Quake name, Quake Live, was released. (Or 11, if you go back to Quake 4.) So when Richardson-based game developer id Software announced Quake Champions last year, it was kind of a big deal.
The company has been pretty secretive about it, though. I, along with many other QuakeCon attendees, was able to watch a high-level competitive match of the game featuring some of the best Quake Live players in the world, but that footage was never released to the general public.
That changes this week when attendees to the PAX East convention in Boston become the first public audience to get their hands on the competitive shooter.
If you can't make it to Boston, though, id Software and the game's publisher, Bethesda, are accepting sign-ups for a Quake Champions closed beta. Just give them your e-mail address and, if you're selected, you could be playing an early version of the game on your PC within "the coming weeks." The way these things usually go, invites will go out in waves, and thousands of people are likely to make the cut for early access.
If that still doesn't work for you, the game will almost certainly be playable at this year's QuakeCon, which will take play at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center August 24-27.
id Software still hasn't said much about when the game will be released or even how it will be sold (it could launch as a free-to-play game, a full-priced retail product or even as a subscription service). We spoke to the game's director, Tim Willits, about those questions and more at last year's QuakeCon.
