Quake Live heading to Steam "very, very soon"

QuakeCon is happening. Amid the rows of LAN-goers intravenously absorbing energy drinks, and the shared sense of smugness at having seen exclusive DOOM footage , the event is also home to a couple of announcements. For instance, Bethesda VP Pete Hines announced that the free-to-play arena shooter Quake Live will arrive on Steam "very, very soon". How soon? Very. How soon, more specifically? He didn't say.

"Upon release, players will have the option of porting their Quake Live account to their Steam account," explains a post on the Quake Live news blog , "allowing you to play and update the game entirely through the Steam interface." The post explains that subscriptions will also be available through Steam, and refers to the Steam release as a "re-launch" of the game. "We will launch an update that for the first time in Quake Live's history, will bring about some big gameplay changes. We want to ensure that FPS fans who check out the game on Steam have more fun in their first match than the current gameplay systems allow."

You can, of course, play Quake Live right now . And you absolutely should: it's good, because Quake III Arena was good. At the same time, it's seemingly always struggled to secure a bigger audience. Steam could potentially help with that. Over 4 million people are logged into the client as I write this, and that's at the low-point of its daily cycle. While just being on Steam is no longer a guarantee of success , Quake Live is free and has an obvious pedigree.

Bethesda are certainly getting the most out of Steam at the moment. The Elder Scrolls Online has just launched on the platform , and this weekend, Bethesda are hosting a QuakeCon sale. You can find the full schedule for the weekend event below.

Thursday: Dishonored: Game of the Year and all Dishonored DLC at 50-75% off
Friday: Wolfenstein: The New Order and DOOM Sale at 50-75% off
Saturday: Fallout 3: Game of the Year, Fallout: New Vegas, and all Fallout: Classic Collection at 50-75% off
Sunday: The Elder Scrolls Sale, with Elder Scrolls titles selling for 50-75% off

Ta, PCGamesN .

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.

Latest in FPS