On August 19, 2021 during QuakeCon 2021, Quake III: Arena was added to the Microsoft Store for Windows, available for purchase or included with Xbox Game Pass for subscribers, adding a new way for gamers to be able to play the game, and a new source for the data files needed to use ioquake3.
ioquake3 is currently designed to search for the Quake III: Arena data in common locations, such as the default locations for Steam and GOG installations. In the future we will explore adding the Microsoft Store location but in the meantime, with a little bit of effort you can use the Microsoft Store version now.
First, install Quake III: Arena from the Microsoft Store, either after purchasing it or using Xbox Game Pass
Next, go to the Downloads page for ioquake3 and download the Windows build and extract it to your hard drive.
Once you have it extracted, create a shortcut (in the same directory or elsewhere) to ioquake3.x86_64.exe.
Right-click on the shortcut and select “Properties”. In the “Target:” field, append a space and then the following text to the end :
+set fs_basepath "C:\Program Files\ModifiableWindowsApps\Quake 3\EN"
So the whole thing will look something like this:
c:\(your path)\ioquake3.x86_64.exe +set fs_basepath "C:\Program Files\ModifiableWindowsApps\Quake 3\EN"
Hit “OK” to close the box and apply the changes, and now your shortcut will launch ioquake3 with the Microsoft Store’s files.
