Online puzzler GeoGuessr has taken players across the globe, but its most recently revealed location is perhaps its unlikeliest yet. The game, which involves identifying real world places based on contextual clues from Google Street View images, is getting a Steam edition that arrives next month.
"We're bringing Duels to Steam," announced the GeoGuessr X account yesterday, noting that "we're actually getting GeoGuessr on Steam before GTA 6 lmao". Duels is a competitive variant of GeoGuessr where you attempt to out-guess other players.
The Steam edition provides access to both competitive solo duels, where you'll square off against one other player in ranked matches, and unranked team duels. Regarding the former, GeoGuessr's brand new Steam page explains that players start off in an amateur division, and can rise through the ranks up to the champion division "On your way to the Champion division, you'll access new features and game modes, such as No Move and the legendary NMPZ."
Both amateur solo duels and unranked team duels will be playable for free through Steam. If you want to play the complete solo duels experience, however, you'll need to purchase a GeoGuessr Steam pass available "inside the game". The Steam edition and browser edition are separate entities with individual subscriptions, although both support crossplay, letting you play people using the alternate version.
GeoGuessr's Steam edition will also be an early access game, with the developers planning to add "new game modes, maps, and competitive features" over the next six months. If, like me, you just did a double take and thought "Hold on, maps?" GeoGuessr does indeed have specific maps assembled from collections of different locations.
There's no explanation regarding why GeoGuessr is coming to Steam, but as is implied by the multiplayer emphasis and the inclusion of ranked leaderboards, Geoguessr has a burgeoning competitive scene. High-level GeoGuessr play can be remarkable to watch, and GeoGuessr has even staged a World Cup for the last two years, with the winner of last year's tournament taking home $26,250.
Bringing Geoguessr to Steam seems like a smart way to formalise its nature as a competitive game, while also exposing it to a wider audience. There's no precise release date yet, but the X post says the Steam edition is "going live soon", while the Steam page says it's coming in April.
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