Would you buy an arena shooter (Q3A, UT) in 2025?

DryvBy

DryvBy

Member
A friend and I were discussing this seeing how Marathon looks like another shooter that is going to be DOA within a few months after launch. The discussion was about how the FPS genre feels like that era of RTS before RTS died off or how graphic adventures died. The FPS is one of my favorite genres and the only thing that seems lo last is Call of Duty, which is so goofy and stupid to me now that I want something new. (I do recommend Trepang2 and Prodeus outside of the upcoming DOOM if you want to shoot things again).

Most modern FPS arena type shooters die quickly and I think it's because they're made by people who don't like guns, and it shows. They don't like over the top violence and gibs. They don't like fun. Arena shooters are twitchy competitive shooters and I don't know if this is just lost on people now, or if they need the carrot (skins, progress bars and rankings, etc). Or if they just don't make them like they used to. So GAF, if they made a shooter that was similar to Q3A and UT, would you buy and play it? I'm talking

- loaded down with maps
- lots of gameplay modes that put f4a or team vs team
- no microtransactions
- mods from simple maps to full scale total conversion mods
- OP weapons that you need to hunt for and patrol
- blood and guts
- crazy weapons
 
Happy Daniel Bryan GIF by WWE
 
Definitely.
Arena shooters are my favorite type of multiplayer shooter.

I don't think we'll see many though as the modern market doesn't seem to care about them
 
DryvBy said:
made by people who don't like guns
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haha the reference to the Halo producer who said he doesn't like guns and violence 😂

Anyway ...

What was the last big arena shooter, Splitgate? That was huge, I think in 2025 people can like those games still. Painkiller would be my franchise of choice for a new twitchy arena shooter.
 
Nah I'm so over with arena shooters or any competitive shooters.

I like to take my time with single player games and play together with everyone else like Fallout 76.
 
In an absolute heartbeat.

Of course, growing up through the pivotal moments of arena shooters and their multiplayer it should be no surprise that I feel that way.

I'm just bummed out that we haven't seen something else come after DOOM 2016's multiplayer. I mean, I felt like it suffered a bit from personality disorder (there REALLY didn't need to be loadouts, they felt pointless), but it was still a lot of fun. I was excited to see them give it another go, and this time in-house. But they never did as Eternal's multiplayer was done in-house but was asymmetrical because they "didn't want to steal anything from Quake Champions".

Quake Champions has a lot of good things about it, but also a lot of things that could be better.

All this to say, I really wish we'd get another big budget AAA arena shooter with that a solid multiplayer component. Give us the old expectations of a campaign, that you can also play with friends online (or locally if able), some other game modes, and then a multiplayer component with various game modes and content. DOOM 2016 had it, Halo 3, so many other games. It's just crazy to think DOOM 1/2 had it, Quake 1/2 had it, there's no reason no recent and future iteration shouldn't have that much content.
 
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Add "custom servers instead of matchmaking" to that list and we have a deal.


edit: damn I wish they had done this with DOOM Eternal. That game's mobility would make for a terrific deathmatch imo.
 
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Absolutely. Unreal Tournament 2004 was and probably still is the pinnacle of arena shooters in my opinion. It was a different time back then though, before SBMM and other stuff took over. Back then it wasn't about unlocking new stuff, it was about getting better at the game and finally kicking that one guys ass on the server who would dominate.

Now it's just a series of short lived dopamine hits or unlocking the next gun etc. I truly believe that I grew up at the peak of online gaming, late 90s to just before the 360 came out was just the best for online gaming in my opinion.
 
I played a ton of UT99 and Q3A and loved it.
But I think I'm pass this genre that point.
And I think most people are too. A few years ago, several arena shooters released and all of them flopped. Despite some of them being good games.
Epic even abandoned UT4 mid development, because most people weren't playing it, so they focused on Fortnite.
 
MrRibeye said:
haha the reference to the Halo producer who said he doesn't like guns and violence 😂

Anyway ...

What was the last big arena shooter, Splitgate? That was huge, I think in 2025 people can like those games still. Painkiller would be my franchise of choice for a new twitchy arena shooter.
Click to expand...
Split gate was pretty fun.
 
It needs plenty of content, a variety of game modes, mutator customization, a strong tutorial for any advanced mechanics/maneuvers and robust mod support.

Last one being the key, mod support is what kept Unreal Tournament games going for years despite not having progression system hooks.

I miss UT2K4, and the late 90s when RTS could compete in sales with action games.
 
If it's made without ads and microtransactions and was pretty much like UT99 or UT2K4. No seasons, no bullshit. Just deathmatch, ca[ture the flag and other modes from those previous games.then sure.

The only microtransactions I'd slightly tolerate are cosmetic.
 
TintoConCasera said:
Add "custom servers instead of matchmaking" to that list and we have a deal.


edit: damn I wish they had done this with DOOM Eternal. That game's mobility would make for a terrific deathmatch imo.
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Right?! It sucked because 2016's was a lot of fun. I played it quite a bit even though it was far from perfect. I was just telling myself how if the next iteration is done in-house it'd probably land and land very well. I really don't understand why they just didn't go through with it. The asymmetrical multiplayer mode was a wash since launch. It was SUCH a waste.
KyoZz said:
I'm still mad that UT4 was canceled and the team was left creating skins for Fortnite. I remember playing it and it was really good



Fuck Epic.
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Me too dude, I'll never forgive them for it (I know it sounds dramatic, lol), especially since they just kind of swept it under the rug and that was it. UT deservers a LOT more than that. But clearly they're way too focused on Fortnite and making money. Which, yeah, I get it, but come on man... There was definitely a world where they could co-exist, and they should've.
 
Fbh said:
Definitely.
Arena shooters are my favorite type of multiplayer shooter.

I don't think we'll see many though as the modern market doesn't seem to care about them
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I dont believe it until i see it.

The gaming industry has a tendency of chasing trends and forgetting and never try the old things because they say the market no longer wants it. Just have to make good games.

Remember when crpgs were dead 2 years ago? If you had asked all the major publishers they all would have said a game like that wouldnt sell well now.

Tactical shooters were also dead, there was only space for CS, until someone actually made one and it was good.

There are so many genres making s comeback.
 
Reizo Ryuu said:
That's basically what COD is, so many people would.
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That's the only reason why I go back to COD time and time again. I call it a guilty pleasure because in a lot of ways I don't like the directions the series has gone in. But it is the ONLY big AAA FPS title that has a similar fast pace and experience like an arena shooter.
 
Probably not. Loved those games back in the day, but these days only really play things like Darktide & Warframe online and can't be bothered with competitive shooters.
 
Yes. But only if it's a finished product and not a live-service game. And I want to be able to host my own servers, just like old times. Most game devs, including id Software, will most likely struggle to put out an arena shooter even near the level of Quake 3.
 
I would have even played Quake Champions, were it on PS5 - Yes, we're lacking non-indie, non-COD arena shooters.
(I DID play a fair bit of QC on PC, tons of fun but I'm just not a PC guy)
 
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It's kind a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. While the idea sounds appealing, I'd probably just go back and play the classics instead.
 
MrRibeye said:
So why did none of you play Quake Champions 😭😭😭 RIP
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Man, I played a LOT of Quake Champions, but the game just... fell on its face multiple times. The marketing or lack there of was never great for the game. There wasn't a solidified roadmap for future content, etc. There were a lot of missteps. It overall just made me feel like they didn't feel confident about the game, which was so weird to me because it was Quake related.

I was never a fan of the whole hero shooter aspect of it, but the game was still fun, and still felt like Quake. I supported it as much as I could personally, hoping that others were doing the same. But it felt like it was on life support for the LONGEST time unfortunately.
 
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