The Quake Pro League, the FPS title’s official esports tournament series, has been discontinued according to a post on the game’s official X profile.
The series, which recently concluded its $150,000 (~£121,900) Quake World Championship, will not be renewed in 2024. As a result, Quake developer id Software said it would look into ‘future opportunities’ to host competitions. This includes potentially collaborating with the community and tournament organisers to host Quake esports events.
Since the Quake franchise launched in 1996, the FPS title has hosted various esports tournaments and events. Quake is regarded as a foundational esports title that helped lay the groundwork for online competitive gaming.
Most of the game’s major events have been centred around QuakeCon, a yearly convention that celebrates and promotes the major franchises of id Software.
In 2019, the game announced the Quake Pro League, a professional esports league for its Quake Champions franchise. Lasting four seasons, the series featured a range of global qualifiers and a season-ending world championship.
According to esports data platform Esports Charts, Quake Champions’ highest-ever peak viewership for an esports event occurred during QuakeCon 2018 Duel (31,567). The event’s recent World Championships, which is part of the Quake Pro League, recorded 10,050 peak viewers.
The end of the Quake Pro League does not mean that the title will be without an esports scene. However, the ecosystem will need to now rely on third-party esports organisations, tournament organisers and the community when it comes to creating structured competitions. Earlier this year, UK esports organisation Team Endpoint announced its own Quake Invitational LAN event called The Foundry.
“We’ve watched some of the most exhilarating moments ever seen in esports throughout QPL and we want to thank all of our peerless players, amazing casters, devoted viewers, and the many organisations who have helped make it possible,” Quake said in its statement on X.
