Bethesda Ditches Divisive Quake Game's Free-To-Play Model in Final Update

Published Sep 24, 2026, 11:29 AM EDT Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast. Developer id Software was reportedly gutted in recent Xbox layoffs id Software/Bethesda Softworks Sign in to your Polygon.com account Bethesda Softworks and id Software have released patch 1.31 for Quake Champions, but it turns out this will likely be the game's last update. The official patch notes reveal that "no additional content updates are planned at this time" as the game moves into a "new chapter." This marks the end of an era for Quake Champions, which launched in early access in 2017 before finally being released in 1.0 in 2022. The biggest change coming to the game revolves around its payment model. Since 2018, Quake Champions has been free-to-play, meaning that anyone can download and play the title. Going forward, the game will be a paid title exclusively available on Steam for $9.99. If you previously played Quake Champions on Steam, the new paid version will be available at no additional cost. Those who played the game through the Microsoft Store will need to link their Bethesda.net account to their Steam account to gain access to the new version, though Bethesda warns that this service will only be available until Oct. 7. As part of the transition to a paid model, 30 seasons' worth of past content and all champions have been unlocked for everyone, as well as most vanity content. Battle passes, microtransactions, and all in-app purchases have been fully removed. The game has also received numerous general fixes to improve stability before it no longer receives support. An interesting addition to the game is a callvote system that will allow players to vote to kick cheaters or abusive players during games. Players may only call three votes per match. The number of data centers has also been reduced to consolidate players and make for faster matchmaking, but this will also likely lower support costs for Bethesda. What's happening with Quake Champions developer id Software? Image: id Software/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon id Software is a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the owner of Bethesda Softworks; ZeniMax was acquired by Microsoft in 2021 and now operates within Microsoft's Xbox division. In recent months, Xbox has undergone several rounds of layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations. Unfortunately, id Software did not escape unscathed. Following the July announcement that Xbox would be cutting 3,200 employees throughout this fiscal year, it was reported that the studio had been slashed in half, with most of the team's coders being cut. That was a shock, given id's important role in video-game technology (for example, the id Tech engine). Just this week, Xbox conducted even more layoffs, largely affecting Halo Studios. Xbox is also currently a priority target of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement's campaigns.