Crytek said in November that its team-based supernatural shooter Hunt: Showdown would begin alpha testing sometime this winter. And so it will, as the studio announced today that the closed alpha phase will get underway on January 31.
Hunt: Showdown is a co-op multiplayer game in which teams of bounty hunters track and kill dangerous, but also very lucrative, supernatural monsters. But it's also got a PvP element, as multiple teams will be competing to bag and claim the same prize—and "competing" in this context means killing each other dead if that's what it comes to.
The game actually began life in 2014 as Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, but the wheels came off when Crytek ran into financial trouble. It was re-rolled as Hunt: Showdown last year, and while I figured it was little more than a desperate move from a company on the brink, it turned out to be incredibly good when we played with it at E3 2017—in fact, we selected it as our favorite game of the show.
The focus of the alpha will be on testing gameplay, balance, and backend functionality, with participants chosen at random from the signup list. Those lucky enough to get in will be notified via email. Crytek didn't say how many people it's after for this alpha, but if you're interested in taking part (and why wouldn't you be?) you can take your shot at huntshowdown.com.
