Quake 3: Arena coming to browsers, supported by ads, solid fuel rocket engines

Next-Gen has some news from QuakeCon that is equal parts awesome, confusing and quite possibly the greatest idea id has ever had. To quote N-G:

id said at Friday’s Quakecon in Dallas that producer Marty Stratton will be leading the new development team on development of the new title.

Quake Zero will be a zero-cost version Quake III Arena that’s fully playable through your web browser and supported only by ad dollars.

Radical idea, right? Even John Carmack had to admit that the plan “may work, it may not”, but if anyone can make ad-supported, in-browser gaming viable, it’s id with a proven, beloved property like Quake 3: Arena.

Details such as browser compatibility, hardware requirements and release dates all seem to be ethereal for the moment, but as soon as John returns from launching a gila monster into orbit around Saturn he has promised to get back to us.