Quake Live Ends Freemium Browser-Based Play, Gets Windows-Only Client

Gear Diary is reader-supported. When you buy through links posted on our site, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. You can learn more by clicking here.

Quake Live

Quake Live

I reviewed a bunch of freemium games including Quake Live back in 2010, noting the value of the game compared to good old Quake III was that it ran seamlessly in a web browser across platforms. Last month it was announced that Quake Live was ending the web-browser play model and moving to standalone client – on Windows only.

The reason for moving to a stand-alone mode is because of diminished browser support for plug-ins.

“Over the past few years, browser support for plugins such as Quake Live have dropped off significantly, causing problems for plugins to operate in a consistent and working manner,” the post reads. “With the recent announcement of Google Chrome’s roadmap to turning off plugin support and the upcoming changes in Firefox, it seems that now is the time to make the transition.”

But … while browser plug-ins allowed the game to play across PC, Mac and Linux, the move to a stand-alone game offers only a PC client. The reasons are … well, they didn’t really give any – here is what they said:

We will be unable to support Mac and Linux clients with this transition. While we have reports from our testers that the game works through emulation or virtualization software, we are unable to support native Mac and Linux versions. If you’re using Mac and Linux and have a paid subscription, you will only be able to access the game using emulation or virtualization software.

Which to me sounds something like ‘look, you aren’t paying for the client so deal with it … oh, some of you ARE paying? Oh well, use Parallels or VMWare’.

Fortunately for Mac and Linux users there already IS a solution available – because id Software made the source code available, there are updated clients of Quake III Arena for all platforms.

So if you miss Quake Live and want to get your fix in on Mac or Linux, head to IOQuake3 to get into the game!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!

About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!