SyncError has detailed the upcoming Season 30 update for Quake Champions, scheduled to deploy at 13:45 UTC, 11 Jun 2026. The update's release coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Quake franchise. To mark the occasion, the developers have announced that the Season 30 Battle Pass will be available for free to all players. The pass includes cosmetics themed around the original Quake (1996) and previous QuakeCon events, previously exclusive skins, the new DISINTEGRATOR Rocket Launcher and Goroth's EARTH MAGIC Podium.

Alongside the anniversary content, the patch introduces a significant overhaul to the game's network code, various quality-of-life additions including a new armor feedback system and balance adjustments across the champion roster.

The complete changelog is provided below.

Season 30 Battle Pass Rewards
New Vanity
  • New Quake II Enhanced DISINTEGRATOR Vanity Rocket Launcher
  • New Goroth's EARTH MAGIC Podium
  • LAST JUDGMENT CLASSIC Rocket Launcher, free to all owners of the LAST JUDGMENT RL

First-Time Battle Pass Appearance Rewards
  • Vanity Items: SPOILS OF WAR Ranger Vanity, SCRAG HOOD Ranger Vanity, BOTTLED EMBRYO Ranger Vanity, THE KEEPER'S HEAD Ranger Vanity
  • Profile Icons: SWORD OF THE SUN, RED DRAGON, BLUE DRAGON, YELLOW DRAGON, NEON HELL MAGIC, NEON EARTH MAGIC, NEON BLACK MAGIC, NEON ELDER MAGIC, RANGER CHIBI, DEATH KNIGHT CHIBI
  • Vanity Weapons: QCON 2021 Gauntlet, QCON 2018 Heavy Machine Gun, QCON 2023 Super Shotgun, QCON 2022 Super Nailgun, QCON 2024 Tri-bolt, QCON 2019 Rocket Launcher, QCON 2017 Lightning Gun, QCON 2020 Railgun
  • Podiums: QUAKECON 2023 Podium
  • Armor Outfits: QUAKGUY Ranger Outfit, BRAWLER Ranger Outfit


Network Updates
The network code has been overhauled with the following goals: reduce packet loss/management, reduce lag compensation for low ping clients, and improve projectile prediction & lag compensation validation.
  • The 160 ms max ping restriction to connect to matchmaking datacenters has been removed.
  • Players now receive up to 100ms + their ping of lag compensation (instead of a static 250ms).
  • Fixed unreliable messages dropping at the end of every frame (leading to dropped packets).
  • Fixed force-retired packets being marked as lost.
  • Fixed rockets not exploding/dealing damage when the owner dies after firing but before it explodes.
  • Fixed rate of fire weapons from over-counting or over-hitting caused by applying damage in batches.
  • Fixed a teleporter lag compensation discrepancy (visual desync when entering a teleporter).
  • Fixed projectile hit validation when playing with a ping above 150ms.


Game Client & UI Updates
  • Added Threaded Input setting (enabled by default) to move input to a dedicated high-priority thread, greatly reducing Raw Mouse Input latency.
  • Raw Mouse Input fixes & optimizations.
  • NVIDIA Reflex fixes & latency markers added.
  • Code optimizations for damage summation markers and special movement input.
  • Reduced RAM size requirements for Texture Quality levels. Quality Settings will no longer be artificially lowered for unlisted newer hardware.
  • Removed the fullscreen Slipgate unlock popup after reaching Level 2.
  • Fixed the collision bug pushing players through the map geometry.
  • Fixed being able to damage a respawning player by attacking their death location with a gauntlet.
  • Fixed Heavy Machinegun shader not applying prior to selecting other weapons.
  • Fixed wrong champion medals being awarded after changing champions.
  • Fixed static player dolls appearing in Freefly cam, and fixed getting stuck in Freefly cam.
  • Fixed a crash in the camera manager when switching to a dead player, and several other game crashes.
  • Added caching optimizations to improve performance for user setting values.
  • Pre & Post Game UI: Fixed the Drag/Move Player hit detection in the Custom Game 4v4 Lobby. Fixed the Add-Bot [+] UI elements overlapping Settings UI. Fixed the persistent menu blur bug when leaving the Battle Report.
  • Added new tips to the map loading screens.
  • Buff & Debuff player info HUD now shows a remaining duration number when duration is 5 seconds & below (and decimals for 3 seconds & below).


Sound Updates
  • Fixed sounds remaining persistent in the world after they should have ended.
  • Fixed missing pain sounds and the incorrect pain sound playing at exactly 25 or 50 hp.
  • Restored pain sounds between 75 and 100 hp.
  • Added Acid & Fire panic sounds when a damage-over-time effect is applied.
  • Death Sound radius extended to 35m to match other character sounds.
  • The volume of the RUTHLESS water railgun shot sound was reduced.


Gameplay & Features
Armor Feedback
Integrated and expanded the armor hit beep system from Quake 4.
  • Armor Hit Beeps: Unique hit beep when hitting an armored opponent. Added ARMOR BEEP STYLE settings (OFF, Q4, QC).
  • Armor Break FX & Sound: Special visual FX and sound when your damage depletes an opponent's armor. New audio settings added for styles.
  • Added additional HITBEEP styles: Mid-Tone (Q3), High-Tone (Q4), Damage-Based (QL), Additive Damage (QC).

Teamplay Features
  • Teammate Death POIs: Shows a Point of Interest marker where a teammate dies (can be toggled in HUD settings).
  • Drop Commands: Drop Weapon and Drop Power-Up commands now available in team modes, triggering a team chat message.
  • Say Commands: Added 6 commands (Yes, No, Hi, Bye, Thanks, Sorry) generating text and local in-world VO.

Weapon, Ammo & Customization
  • Universal Weapon Shaders: All supported weapons now have 23 universal shaders available for free (Basic colors, Camo, Patterned, and Mastery shaders).
  • Show Vanity Customizations Toggle: Allows players to turn off in-game armor shaders, vanity items, and vanity weapons during actual gameplay.
  • Weapon Zoom Toggle: Keeps the weapon zoomed in until untoggled or changed.
  • Hidden Weapon Position: Sets the weapon and hands to be invisible and centered. Gauntlet icon added to ammo HUD.
  • Starting Weapons upgrade instantly without switch downtime.
  • Weapon Pickups always add the starting ammo count to your current ammo.
  • Knockback is applied immediately instead of in delayed batches. Knockback cap adjusted from 120 to 132.
  • Champion Specific Weapon Loadouts: Weapons are now equipped per Champion in Customization (with an Equip on All button).
  • Random Champion Select: Can now be used in various modes (cycles at random with each respawn in standard modes, locks one random champ for Duel, etc.).

Item & Bot Updates
  • Power-ups dropped from dead players have a minimum duration of 3 seconds remaining.
  • Dropped items no longer pop up vertically before dropping, fall at normal gravity, and no longer float on players' heads.
  • In-game Lore drops now grant an in-game bonus to those who discover them.
  • Fixed Doom Slayer Bots so they can use Berserk.
  • Fixed Scalebearer Bots from running backwards during Bull Rush or cancelling abilities early.
  • Fixed Strogg Bots so they can use Drone Strike.


Champion Updates
  • Anarki: Changing champion mid-game no longer resets cooldown. Disabled weapon switch during Injection (can be queued). Fixed hoverboard sound Teammate Volume.
  • Athena: Grappling Hook fixes & updates to pull speed acceleration.
  • BJ Blazkowicz: Max speed cap increased (650 to 900). Walk Speed increased (160 to 280). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25).
  • Clutch: Starting armor reduced (100 to 75). Barrier duration now degrades as it receives damage (max 200 dmg before breaking). Shield sound alters pitch as duration depletes. No Dodge Passive while Shield is active. Spawns with 1 of 3 dashes. Stamina regen reduced (0.33 to 0.30). Added a 10ms delay between dodges. Fixed SummerTime outfit attachments bug.
  • Death Knight: Max speed cap increased (650 to 900). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Flame Strike splash damage now always adds the flame dot. Charring Passive dot increased (from 30 max to 45 max). Fixed the "bayonet" visual bug and Humiliation vanity un-equipping.
  • Doom Slayer: Max speed cap increased (650 to 700). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Berserk enemies appear solid white. Berserk duration reduced (5 to 3 sec) but restores fully to 3 sec on a landed punch. Added sounds, magnetism, trails for blood punch bubbles. Fixed weapon drop/stuck hands bug.
  • Eisen: Max speed cap increased (650 to 700). Max Extra AP reduced (175 to 150). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Armor decay improved (1pt every 2s). Sentry Turret now has hitbeeps, overhead health bars, max health reduced to 100, starting health increased to 125, regens health after 5s out of combat. Throwing turret in kill zone refunds 80% cooldown. Removed armor regen passive; replaced with Turret Repair passive (Eisen upgrades turret stack when picking up armor). Salvage passive cooldowns adjusted.
  • Galena: Max speed cap increased (650 to 900). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Unholy Totem now plays hitbeeps and shows damage numbers. Added overhead info for totems. Totems receive power-up FX. Totems owned by you appear solid through walls. Enemy totems have a visible SFX ring. Throwing totem in kill zone refunds 80% cooldown. Fixed Super Shotgun damage cap against totems. Totem weapon collision slightly increased.
  • Keel: Max speed cap increased (600 to 800). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (75 to 50). Fixed grenades sometimes exploding 3 times. Reinforced Passive self-damage reduction improved (60% to 67%), splash damage reduction improved (20% to 33%). Stockpile Passive ammo box cooldown reduction improved (10% to 20%).
  • Nyx: Max speed cap increased (750 to 1000).
  • Ranger: Max speed cap increased (650 to 900). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Dire Orb velocity reduced (1000 to 900). Shoot Delays increased. Orb now has 75 HP, can be destroyed when shot to trigger explosion, and its damage scales based on flight time. Gladiator outfit renamed to BRAWLER.
  • Scalebearer: Max speed cap increased (600 to 800). Starting Armor in Duel reduced (75 to 50). Fixed IK animation crash. Fixed Bull Rush passing through enemies without collision and the rotation sensitivity bug.
  • Slash: No changes.
  • Sorlag: Starting Armor in Duel reduced (75 to 50). Fixed centered weapon position being lost after Acid Spit.
  • Strogg: Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Will no longer drop Stroyent on suicide. Fixed Golden Crown shader/crash behaviors. Fixed Peeker's camera angles when owner uses teleporter. Fixed Peeker's flight sounds persisting after death.
  • Visor: Starting Armor in Duel reduced (50 to 25). Piercing Sight now exposes the enemy's health and armor info. Increased volume of 3rd person ability VO.


Game Mode Updates
  • Lobbies: In ranked matches, disconnected players lose SR, and the remaining opponent gets a forfeit win. Added Unholy Trinity TDM to Bot Practice. Custom Game supports Score Limit 0.
  • Matches: Fixed max warmup bug (now capped at 120s). Fixed Auto-Abort. Anti-Griefing now sends players to the main menu instead of closing the game.
  • Duel & 2v2 TDM: Dead player bodies will now hide at the minimum respawn time (3 seconds).
  • Sacrifice: Active Abilities canceled on Soul Pickup. Added Announcer VO countdown (10 to 1) at 90-99% capture.
  • Instagib & Unholy Trinity: Quick Play matches now last 10 minutes with no score limit.
  • Clan Arena & Slipgate: Added First-Person Spectating while dead.
  • Spectating: Fixed a delay when the followed player dies.


Map Updates
  • All Maps: Quake 30th Anniversary Banners added.
  • Blood Covenant: Removed an unused out-of-bounds jumppad.
  • Blood Run: Added a teleporter from Tri-bolt mid-level to Super Nailgun room. Fixed mesh holes and out-of-bounds urns.
  • Church of Azathoth: Fixed missing game mode flags in disabled obelisk area, fixed out-of-bounds urn, removed out-of-bounds jumppad.
  • Citadel: Removed out-of-bounds fireplace reference inside central jumppad.
  • Deep Embrace: Recreated ocean mesh from scratch for performance. Fixed map holes.
  • Insomnia: Fixed holes in window frame near HMG.
  • Ruins of Sarnath: Swapped SG spawn and player-spawn locations. Fixed map holes.
  • Tower of Koth: Smaller version used in DM, TDM, IG, i9, UHT. Larger version added the support beam above the central mid-level teleporter.