Choose Quake III Arena
Choose Quake III Arena if you want the LAN 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 Champions
Quake III Arena and Quake Champions 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 15 years older than Quake Champions (2022). Quake III Arena scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than Quake Champions (70.9% 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 Champions
Choose Quake Champions if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. 19,839 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Quake III Arena and Quake Champions sit in Action on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, 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 Champions | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2007 | 2022 |
| Genres | Action | Action, Free To Play |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 14.99 USD | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 95.7% positive (2,021 reviews) | 70.9% positive (19,839 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player |
| Developers | id Software | id Software |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Quake III Arena (2007) is 15 years older than Quake Champions (2022).
- Quake III Arena scores higher on Steam reviews (95.7% positive) than Quake Champions (70.9% positive).
- Quake Champions is free; Quake III Arena is paid (14.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Quake III Arena is Deck Unsupported, Quake Champions is Deck Playable.
Quake III Arena vs Quake Champions — FAQ
- Which is better, Quake III Arena or Quake Champions?
- On Steam reviews Quake III Arena scores higher (95.7% positive) than Quake Champions (70.9% 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 Champions first?
- If you want chronology, Quake III Arena (2007) came out before Quake Champions (2022). 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 Champions 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.
- Is Quake Champions free?
- Yes — Quake Champions is a free-to-play Steam title. Quake III Arena is paid (14.99 USD).