Nostalgia and all-time classic status
Mentioned in ~2 in 3 positive reviews
“Every time I come back to it, I’m a kid again.”
Steam review · 3.2 h played ↗
Quake III Arena
Worth buying? What 256 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 256 Steam reviews actually say.
Overwhelmingly PositiveOverwhelmingly Positive · 96%id Software2007FPS · Arena Shooter · Action
$14.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 2 h ago
The verdict
A legendary, fast, skill-driven arena shooter that still plays brilliantly, but online is nearly empty and the Steam port is rough. Skip it if you want a campaign or busy servers.
Great for
Arena-shooter fans, nostalgic veterans, and players who like skill-based movement and bot matches
Main risk
Few human players online and a dated port needing tweaks, so you mostly play bots
What players love
Timeless fast movement and gunplay
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“The speed, the amazing gunplay, and pure action where reflexes and skill are what really matter.”
Steam review · 222.8 h played ↗
Mods, community and ioquake3/Quake3e support
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“A classic game from years ago that, when you add mods to it, still feels new after all this time.”
Steam review · 576.9 h played ↗
Great bots and single-player ladder
Mentioned in ~1 in 14 positive reviews
“there is a robust single player ladder to practice in with some of the most advanced bots I've ever seen from this era!”
Steam review · 18.1 h played ↗
Runs on anything, works on Steam Deck
Mentioned in ~1 in 25 positive reviews
“runs great on garbage 12 dollar thrift store mac mini”
Steam review · 0.2 h played ↗
What players complain about
Poor modern compatibility and widescreen
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews
“the way it doesn't work properly under Windows 10, requiring a lot of tweaks and hacks just to get to the menu”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗
Dead online scene, mostly bots
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“On a Saturday, there's one populated server and it's in America, making the ping too high for Australian players to be competetive.”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗
No story campaign, limited content
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“Unreal Tournament 99 just has more to offer and doesn't gatekeep game modes behind an expansion pack like Quake 3 Arena does.”
Steam review · 1.2 h played ↗
Multiplayer hosting and server browser broken
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 negative reviews
“Server browser sucks, can't sort by player amount.”
Steam review · 0.6 h played ↗
Quake Live is the better choice
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 negative reviews
“Quake Live has everything this game does and many many more players, quality of life features, customization options”
Steam review · 5.8 h played ↗
Overpriced for such an old game
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 negative reviews
“Genuinely a joke that this 25+-year-old game is more than $5”
Steam review · 29.1 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Unknown
Steam doesn’t list requirements for this game.
More games to check
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Mixed · 47%
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analyzed 5 d ago
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+ Fast, brutal, satisfying gunplay
− Bullet-sponge enemies and scarce ammo
analyzed 3 d ago
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− Crashes, freezes and progression bugs
analyzed 3 d ago
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