During The Game Awards this evening, Wargaming - developers of World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes - made a surprise announcement by unveiling Steel Hunters an all-new IP built on Unreal Engine 5 and a game unlike anything they've made before.
We met with the devs from the Guilford team virtually ahead of the TGAs for an in-depth look at Steel Hunters and to see some gameplay. The Beast Wars vibes were strong at first glance, but Steel Hunters is nothing like Transformers. It's a third-person mech hero shooter that plays on an open-world map and blends elements of battle royales and extraction shooters.
Steel Hunters is free-to-play and focuses on and rewards skill and team tactics. Players participate in teams of two and will succeed based on smart plays and positioning more than perfect aiming, including timing of using powerful abilities that are on cooldowns and synchronizing with your partner. Wargaming refers to this as "Duo Symbiosis" after testing all sorts of team sizes and compositions.
What Are Steel Hunters? The Lore of Wargaming's New IP Explained
Hunters Are Giant Mechanical Beasts With Unique Abilities & Weapons, Not To Be Mistaken As Mechs Or Exosuits
Steel Hunters is set in a post-cataclysmic world where a rare and valuable alien resource called "Starfall" arrived from space, ruining the livable surface of Earth. The remnants of humanity now live in space or deep underground. The Starfall material is essential to technological evolution and to power the world, so the select few humans who have a natural resistance to the powers of Starfall have become Hunters, transforming their consciousness into the Hunters to battle for this material across various hunting grounds.
When Does Steel Hunters Release?
Wargaming's Steel Hunters Limited Closed Playtest Starts Now!
A 10-day closed playtest begins now, and players can sign up via the Wargaming Game Center and on Steam. The Steel Hunters Open Beta will launch in Spring 2025. The game is releasing first on PC with plans to come to consoles at a later date.
Steel Hunters' playtest includes seven mechs (pictured in the first gallery above) with additional Hunters (and more lore) on the way and additional Hunters being released each season after the game's full launch. While plans for monetization have not yet been finalized, the developers tell me we can expect there to be cosmetic purchases and some sort of battle pass system in the future.
The mode featured in the Steel Hunters gameplay unveiled at The Game Awards is called "Starfall Harvest" and this will be what the playtest introduces players to. The full game will feature other modes and events and will evolve as a live service title.
In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, ScreenRant confirms it is on the judging panel at The Game Awards 2024. Our editorial process is separate from our contributions to judging, and as such, our panel inclusion does not compromise our journalistic integrity.
Steel Hunters is available on Wargaming Game Center and Steam.
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