Wargaming is probably best known for world of tanks and World of Warships franchises, but he seems intent on adding another well-known name to that list: Steel hunters. Wargaming pulled the curtain on this new title at The Game Awards 2024. The latest IP, Steel hunters is a free-to-play PvPvE Mech game that includes elements of the hero shooter, battle royale, and mining genres.
In Steel huntersplayers are not a pilot operating a mech; mechs, known as Hunters, were given souls to fight for Starfall. A catastrophic event has left humanity nearly extinct and fighting for survival, and its future hinges on a rare alien resource known as Starfall. This material is scattered throughout the ravaged Earth, megacorporations and other factions using the hunters to war against each other for this resource.
As Wargaming's take on a hero shooter, each hunter is a complete character with a distinct playstyle, sets, and progression systems. Games can be won by mining with the necessary resources, leaving other hunters on the map empty-handed, or by eliminating all other hunters on the map. As such, the hunters themselves feel right out of the popular hero shooter genre, but the gameplay taps into the popularity of battle royale and extraction games. A key difference is that Steel hunters it emphasizes tactics and understanding team composition and individual hunters over having quick reflexes (as seen in traditional shooter games).
Hunters
A crucial aspect of this is Duo Symbiosis, where players can combine tactics and skills with another hunter. Overall, each hunter's build and tactics can be customized with unique gear combinations (and of course collectibles and cosmetics) to bring out unique strategies when facing other hunters in the hunting grounds. While it remains to be seen how the customization works, from a gameplay and cosmetic standpoint, the designs of each Mech open a lot of doors. These Mechs aren't just humanoid like Heartbreaker or Trenchwalker, but some borrow animal design elements like Ursus and Fenris.
Although it remains to be seen when fans can fully immerse themselves in The Hunting Grounds Steel hunterssome fans will be able to check out a little earlier what the game has to offer. Steel hunters is hosting a 10-day closed PC playtest, and fans can expect more news throughout 2025.
War game
- Date of establishment
- August 2, 1988
- OFFICE
- Minsk, Belarus
