Quake Live Remains Free, Adds Subs

After eighteen months or so of beta, Quake Live has finally announced its subscription plans. You can still play for free, but you can also sign up for $1.99 a month, or $3.99 a month options (although these are "billed annually"), which give different levels of access the clan management systems, freeze tag, match stats, and so on. The full details are below the cut. In some ways I wish I still had enough time for Quake III for this to be attractive to me, but my monthly hour with the railgun doesn't really justify it. And, while it's interesting to see such an old game repackaged and sold like this, much of what made the original so attractive to me - IRC pickup games, specific maps (Spider Crossings!) and mods - hasn't made an appearance here.

The Premium Subscription, which can be purchased for $1.99 per month, billed annually, includes:

* Access to 20 QUAKE LIVE Premium only maps at launch with more to come. Premium maps are a combination of brand new maps and frequently requested community favorites from previous QUAKE games such as Aerowalk, Theater of Pain, Japanese Castles, and Realm of Steel Rats;
* An all new 'Freeze Tag' game mode;
* Exclusive premium level awards;
* Create your own clan and join up to five separate clans;
* Custom QUAKE LIVE profile wallpaper; and
* Match statistics stored for six months.

The Pro Subscription, which can be purchased for $3.99 per month, billed annually, includes all of the premium subscription features as well as:

* The ability to start your own game server, specify a server location, determine the game mode and invite who you want to join you;
* With the Pro Subscription, you can invite three friends with Standard level memberships to play with you in any Premium level map;
* Exclusive pro awards;
* Create your own clan and join up to ten separate clans; and
* Match statistics stored for 12 months.

The QUAKE LIVE 'Standard' version is still free to play and includes friend lists, access to one clan, matchmaking, and stats tracking delivered through a web browser with over 40 arenas and five game modes.