Choose Quake III Arena
Choose Quake III Arena if you want the Online PvP, LAN PvP, and PvP side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.7% positive across 2,021 reviews.
Quake III Arena vs Quake 4
Quake III Arena and Quake 4 both land in Action on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Action games on Steam. Quake III Arena (2007) is 4 years older than Quake 4 (2011). Quake III Arena scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than Quake 4 (85.5% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Quake 4
Choose Quake 4 if it's the newer release (2011) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 1,665 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Quake III Arena and Quake 4 sit in Action on Steam and both list Multi-player, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Quake III Arena |  Quake 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2007 | 2011 |
| Genres | Action | Action |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.7% positive (2,021 reviews) | 85.5% positive (1,665 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player |
| Developers | id Software | RavenSoft, id Software |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Quake III Arena (2007) is 4 years older than Quake 4 (2011).
- Quake III Arena scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than Quake 4 (85.5% positive).
- Quake 4 is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Quake III Arena (14.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Quake III Arena is Deck Unsupported, Quake 4 is Deck Playable.
Quake III Arena vs Quake 4 — FAQ
- Which is better, Quake III Arena or Quake 4?
- On Steam reviews Quake III Arena scores higher (95.7% positive) than Quake 4 (85.5% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Quake III Arena is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Quake III Arena or Quake 4 first?
- If you want chronology, Quake III Arena (2007) came out before Quake 4 (2011). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Quake III Arena and Quake 4 similar?
- They overlap on Action on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.