The latest game in the legendary Quake series, online shooter Quake Champions has completed changed its economy system. There are now no more Quake Champions loot boxes - and instead they're being replaced with a Fortnite-style Battle Pass.
Additionally, as part of the latest update, there will be new Weekly Challenges to help level up your characters, and the long-awaited addition of a Capture The Flag mode - along with the first Quake Champions CTF map, based on Stone Keep from Quake III Arena and Quake Live.
With the removal of loot boxes, players now earn items, upgrades, and characters by playing the game. Battle Pass owners simply earn these rewards faster, along with exclusive items and Battle Pass-specific Weekly Challenges - although regular game owners and Champions Pack owners will still get Weekly Challenges too. There are also new Seasons, with 100-tier ladders with various rewards.
The Battle Pass is part of id Software's goal to tidy up the economy of Quake Champions, and obviously the success of Fortnite has been an inspiration. The Quake Champions Battle Pass will cost 1000 Platinum (the game's premium currency) to join - although it is optional.
No more Backpacks, no more Chests, no more random Runes or Lore drops--just a clear path to rewards by playing #Quake! It isn't a dream, it's Quake's December Update! pic.twitter.com/Q8lSX1LU4m
— Quake Champions (@Quake) December 5, 2018
As for Capture The Flag, the classic mode finally returns to Quake in the same update. There's only one CTF-specific map so far: Citadel, which as mentioned is based on Stone Keep from Quake III Arena and Quake Live. The mode was in Doom 2016's multiplayer we believe, so we're not sure why it took so long to arrive in Quake Champions.
There have been a number of major updates to Quake Champions recently, including AI Bot Support for matches. While the game's still not as popular as the Quake name suggests, perhaps the removal of the much-maligned loot boxes and the inclusion of the more cooperative Capture The Flag will help matters.
