QuakeCon is through and through dedicated to titles published by gaming behemoth Bethesda so we were expecting everything from Doom Eternal, all the way through to Fallout 76, which isn’t even remotely related to Quake. Maybe a name change is in order?
We were not disappointed when it came to announcements. QuakeCon 2018 was packed with gameplay trailers, juicy details, and the usual helping of sweet, comical moments. Here are five worthy nuggets of news from QuakeCon 2018.
Dealing With Griefers In Fallout 76
If you’ve played survival games of the ilk of Rust or Conan Exiles, you’ll be well acquainted with the concept of griefing, or in other words how to make the game miserable for everyone else. In order to limit the griefers inevitable influence in Fallout 76, Bethesda have come up with a novel way to effectively punish them. Anyone caught mercilessly killing other players will automatically get a bounty on their head (with a useful map marker for the murdered to track them down to get revenge) with the reward coming directly from the griefer’s own pocket. As Todd Howard succinctly puts it, ‘we turn the assholes into interesting content’.
Doom Eternal Gameplay Trailer
Backed by a chugging metal soundtrack and oozing with creative ways to blast a hole through a demon, id Software set down a clear marker for what their next effort is primed to be in not one, but three Doom Eternal gameplay trailers. You’ve been warned it’s a lurid, grotesquely brutal affair, but then again Doom fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Wolfhunter DLC Gets A Release Date
Though the name suggests otherwise, QuakeCon isn’t simply for FPS titles and this is none better exemplified with the announcement that The Elder Scrolls Online Wolfhunter DLC will release for PC on August 13th and August 28th on console. The hints in the name, but this one is all about battling werewolves. You can check out the trailer above, which looks like it was accidentally dropped in a vat of bright neon primer. Bethesda even threw in a few details about the next expansion, dubbed Murkmire, set in the reptilian Argonian controlled land of Black Marsh. So yeah, lizards and werewolves. Seems about right for The Elder Scrolls.
The Case
QuakeCon is by definition a festival of first person shooters, but it also carries a reputation as one of the more good nature conferences of the year with a fun-loving crowd and is generally a really good time. In keeping with this, Bethesda Tim Hine brought out a case for Rage 2 studio director Tim Willits to hop onto during the Rage 2 portion of the keynote. The reason was to limit the height gap between him and his colleague, the towering game director Magnus Nedfors. We all love a bit of leveling the playing field. Conferences are all about these impromptu moments.
Quake Champions Goes Free-To-Play
Early access multiplayer arena shoot ‘em up mayhem simulator Quake Champions is now and forever completely free on both Steam and on the Bethesda website. Bethesda dropped the bomb to raucous applause, detailing that free means all the Ranked, Arcade, and Quickplay modes and maps are available. F2P Quake Champion unlocks two starter champions: Ranger and Scalebearer. Of course, players will still need to grind through tutorials and matches for all the remaining champions, though those with cash to spare can fork out for The Champions Pack and have immediate access to all of them.
