Quake III Arena has been on our LAN rotation for years for one simple reason: it asks nothing from the hardware and gives everything back in raw speed. I have run it on a laptop that was already old when I bought it and it never dropped a frame. The LAN setup is about as native as it gets. One person hosts, everyone connects, you are fragging within two minutes. No accounts, no patches required mid-session, no servers going offline. The bots fill in when the group is an odd number, and they are actually decent. It is not a subtle game, but at a LAN party subtle is not what you came for.

Overview
About Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena is a first-person shooter built around competitive multiplayer combat. Unlike earlier entries in the Quake series, it has no story-driven campaign, and its single-player mode instead pits the player against computer-controlled bots across a series of increasingly difficult arenas. Matches take place in maps that mix gothic and technological architecture, with weapons and power-ups spawning at fixed points that players fight to control. Movement techniques such as strafe-jumping and rocket-jumping are central to high-level play. Game modes include free-for-all deathmatch, team deathmatch, one-on-one tournament duels, and capture the flag, and the game supports network and internet play along with extensive customization and modding.
Story setup
In Quake III Arena, the greatest warriors of all time are pulled from their own worlds to fight for the amusement of a powerful race known as the Vadrigar within the Arena Eternal. The player takes the role of one such combatant, battling through tiers of opponents in an endless contest of skill and survival.
Reference
At a glance
- Released
- December 2, 1999
- Platforms
- macOS, PC, Linux
- Genres
- Shooter, Action
- Play modes
- Single Player, Multiplayer
- Age rating
- ESRB M
Media
Screenshots
Click any screenshot to view it full size.
Playing together
Multiplayer & game modes
supports up to 16 players online.
16 online
Features
Online Multiplayer
Play Modes
Single Player • Multiplayer
Player Count
- Online
- 1-16
Content
Age ratings
How rating boards around the world have classified Quake III Arena. Open a board for its content descriptors.
ACBMA 15+
Strong Violence
CLASS_IND18
- Violência (Violence)
ESRBM
- Blood and Gore
- Violence
- Animated Blood and Gore
- Animated Violence
- Language
GRAC15+
- Violence
PEGI18
Also in our guides
Often listed alongside Quake III Arena
Titles that appear in the same guides on this site. Grouped by where they show up, not by recommendation.
Coverage
Featured in our articles
This game appears in 1 article on this site.
#1
Game data and imagery provided by IGDB.com
