We reported on Quake Live some time ago, but now we have lots more, since QuakeCon is on! For the lazy, Quake Live is a project from id, where they are going to take the classic Quake III: Arena and turn it free, tournament-style and browser-based. Just hit the goddamn link above already.
Quake Live was originally titled Quake Zero at last year’s E3, but its name was changed not long after to Quake Live. Now we know why: shortly after the announcement, a domain squatter registered domains around Quake Zero, demanding good cash for the names. id being the smart asses that they are, decided to change the game name itself, seeing as it wasn’t so deep into development.
Carmack also hinted at the possibility of a Quake Arena 2, or essentially, a full-fledged sequel to Quake III: Arena. But he says that it’s possible only if Quake Live ends up being unsuccessful. Not a bad idea, to be honest, if you ask me. If it ends up being really good, it might even give Epic a run for their money. But Carmack also notes that not many publishers out there are looking for a multiplayer-centric game right now. Hmm.
Meanwhile, it looks like id actually got around to updating their Quake Live website since our last update. Right now it looks like a standard official game info site, but if all goes well, it will be a huge tournament centre with detailed stats, charts and well, you get the idea.
The Beta idea still seems to be on, so drop in your e-mail address and you might be the first in your neighbourhood to be in on this whole thing!