Quake Champions Closed Beta Dates, New Character Announced

The closed beta for Quake Champions is just a week away, developer id Software has announced.

It kicks off next Thursday, April 6, with "an initial group of testers." There's no indication of how big that pool of people will be, but more will be added "over time." If you haven't already, you can still sign up for the beta here.

Id also unveiled another of the game's characters (or champions, as it calls them): Anarki, who returns from Quake III Arena, where he was an Arena Lord and playable character. He still has his signature hoverboard, and he's among Champions' fastest characters.

His active ability is Health Injection, which allows him to heal himself (but not others). His passive ability is Hoverboard Air Control, which allows him to turn more sharply in mid-air than other characters. He also gains speed as he strafe-jumps. You can get a look at him in the video above.

We recently got to go hands-on with Quake Champions and walked away impressed--and reassured that its class system doesn't disrupt its classic Quake gameplay.