Quake Champions has ended its free-to-play model, with the Steam version now transitioning to a $10 buy-to-play game. Players who previously played the game on Steam do not need to pay again; the new version will appear directly in their Steam libraries.
Along with the change in business model, the game has removed battle passes, weekly and event challenges, the store, daily login rewards, and loot boxes. The two currencies, Platinum and Shards, have also been removed, as has the Shards reward track in the hero progression system.
The buy-to-play version unlocks all heroes from the start, so players no longer need to purchase characters individually. Most cosmetic content is now available to all users, including classic skins for the Quake Ranger and Doom Slayer.
The developers will also refund players for recent purchases of premium currency. The update notes did not provide further details on the specific scope and procedures for these refunds.
This adjustment also marks the end of Quake Champions' nine-year online service operation. The developers stated that there are currently no plans to release additional content updates; the game will remain available for purchase on Steam as a fixed-price product.