Bethesda banks on eSports with Quake Champions

Bethesda and id Software are jumping out of Quakecon and into the eSports world. 

At tonight's E3 press conference, Bethesda kicked off the night with Quake Champions, a new character-based shooter from iD Software and made plainly clear their intention was to build the game as an eSports franchise. 

id Software cofounder Tim Willits took to the stage to introduce the game, bringing up Quake's legacy as one of the first competitive online shooters, and its long history of tournament play at QuakeCon.

As he closed out the announcement, Willits stated that Bethesda would be supporting independent eSports tournaments and leagues for Quake Champions. 

This would mark Bethesda's largest expansion into eSports yet, as none of their other recent multiplayer titles have made huge strides in the competitive scene. 

Willits promised more information on Quake Champions would be on display at this year's Quakecon.