With PAX East occuring this weekend, the Quake Champions development team will be hosting a discussion panel to discuss the future of the game, to announce upcoming tournaments as well as reveal a new champion. Doors will open at 17:30 UTC to attendants of PAX East at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, with the Quake Champions stream going live at 19:00 UTC via the icon_twitch Bethesda channel.

This thread will be updated with news as it comes in!

Update:
PAX East
  • Looks like people are entering the designated Quake area icon_twitter @AGEgamingEsport.
  • More images of the venue and tournament areas via @amazonagent.
  • Can you spot the ZeRo4 imposter? via icon_twitter @agr1nja.
  • More images of the tournament area via icon_twitter @Quake.
  • Pre-stream has started at icon_twitch Bethesda.
  • Matt Grandstaff, Bethesda community manager on stage now. introducing the programme and people involved in the Quake Champions panel, includes: MortalEmperor, tokyopunchout, ZeRo4 and "Brandon Rifer."
  • tokyopunch out introducing a spring celebration video showing the pastel colored items and instagib.
  • MortalEmperor discussing how instagib is pronounced (instagib v. "instajib")
  • New map introduced. Called "Awoken." Looks like the same video which has been shown before which uses the Ruins of Sarnath aesthetic. Has an elder god ("cosmic horrors from another realm") called Ctalha (sp).
  • ZeRo4 remarks that the new map is "fun, circular in nature... vivid colours... and it's fun to play too."
  • Remarks that map has lots of "nooks and crannies" to shoot through and that you can fall off the map.
  • New weapon skin for the nailgun called "disruptor," it is the Quake 3 plasma gun. It will be in the April update.
Image
Plasma Gun
  • E-sports: LAN: DreamHack May, QuakeCon August, PGL October, DreamHack December.
  • E-sports: Online: Collegiate Starleague, Battlefy, ESL GO4Cups, and Quake Champions OpenLeague.
  • E-sports: Only one mode per tournament. ALL tournaments will be open, NO invites except for DreamHack December.
Image
Esport Schedule
  • E-sports: Top two teams from Collegiate Starleague will have all expenses paid to get to QuakeCon.
  • E-sports: "Quake Open League" will be run by Zoot and Jehar.
  • E-sports: Battlefy will host 2-4 events per week, with European and North American events.
  • "We're gonna have a lot of Quake this year" -- ZeRo4.
  • MortalEmperor discussing updates and that they made feedback based on community feedback. "Players can still influence the game."
  • They will not discuss movement changes for spring update, only that there are more changes based on feedback they received. "A lot of the feed back is very valid, very good."
  • MortalEmperor: "Quake Champions is built for the players."
  • New champion: introduced with small cartoon. Looks awfully influenced by Borderlands aesthetic.
  • New champion: Strogg and Peeker released on April 26, 2018.
  • New champion has has a recon drone called peeker which is his active ability. You deploy the drone and you can use the drone to shoot people, can give his entire team information on opponents. Peeker can self-destruct for doing a lot of damage. Peeker taking damage does not effect Strogg. When peeker is deployed, Strogg is invisible from game play footage but has a red outline -- He is "cloaked." Has a very similar silhouette to some of the other champions.
  • New champion: Passive ability is that enemies drop +25 HP upon death which can only by picked up Stroggs on the map.
  • Peeker can be destroyed by it self. When peeker is activated and Strogg is killed, peeker is destroyed.
Image
Strogg & Peeker
  • New champion: Aimed to be a support/recon hero than getting into lots of fights.
  • tokyopunchout pushing the Scalebearer pack and it looks like they are wrapping up.
  • Stream is over. SyncError wasn't there it appears like. Not sure why I expected him to be. No news on CTF. No new map styles introduced. No tournament features announced.

Links: icon_qw Quake Champions, icon_twitch Bethesda