Crytek's Hunt: Showdown is one of our most hyped titles currently in development, but it still has a long way to go and that could leave a lot of gamers, us included rather sad. Fortunately, we can dive in well before the game is officially released, as like a lot of currently popular titles - we're looking at you PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - Hunt: Showdown is heading into Steam Early Access in the very near future.
The listing is up on Steam now and though you can't buy it yet, we're told that the game is coming "soon." It will also be in Early Access for up to a year, so don't expect this to be one of the short development cycles to dive into just before it comes out. This is about building the game into something bigger than it is with player feedback along the way - while helping assuage some of Crytek's continued financial problems.
There's likely to be a reason we've only really seen the one spider boss so far. There probably aren't any others in such a completed state. Think of Evolve with its Goliath monster. These games need a bit more testing before they can hit the prime time.
"An Early Access release allows us to base further development work on community feedback as we test and refine new features, equipment, cast, and settings," Crytek said on the EA page. "The dialogue between the Hunt community and Hunt developers will be crucial in creating a fun experience—so you can help us define what Hunt: Showdown, ultimately, is going to be."
"Throughout Early Access we will be adding more gear, more monsters, more (and more diverse) Hunters, more game modes, more traits, crafting, and more map variations. As we get a better understanding of how our community engages with Hunt: Showdown, we will continue to expand the content and add features, and this process will define the full version of the game."
Do you guys like the idea of Hunt: Showdown becoming an Early Access title, or do you feel like that's cashing in Crytek's chips too early and the concept will burn players out before the game is released?