My favorite thing about the Toxikk release trailer that turned up on YouTube today is the pullquote from our news post last month announcing the game's forthcoming release and demo version. “An arena FPS just like mama,” it says. And that's it. The full quote, as you may have guessed, is “an arena FPS just like mama, or indeed mama's parent company Epic, used to make.” But maybe that was a little too long.
Whatever the reason for the premature cut (and the potential for “your mom” jokes), Toxikk is now live on Steam, a bit later than expected, and entirely free, with no microtransactions but a few limitations. Reakktor Studios broke those conditions down in this Steam post, but highlights include a limit on the available maps and vehicles (and the campaign modes and achievements attached to unavailable maps), the lack of a server browser and character customization options, and no access to custom content or the Steam Workshop.
“It basically boils down to this: The Free Edition of Toxikk features the full core experience of the game and has no competitive disadvantages versus the full game. It let's you play Toxikk for free, for as long and as often as you like. So, in many aspects it is like a shareware version of the game or a demo,” Reakktor wrote. “We, Reakktor Studios, have worked over 3 years on this project and would hate to see our game sink in insignificance. Toxikk is competing against companies that have millions of shiny dollars to sink in marketing. We had only a fraction of that... and wanted to put it into the game's development only, to fulfill our dream of creating a classic Arena FPS.”
The studio also warned that its servers are currently having a little trouble dealing with the number of people playing, so those with the free version—that is, without the server browser—may have a rough time connecting. Servers are still being tweaked, and an update that will be ready to go live either tomorrow or Thursday should “further improve the situation.” More information about Toxikk (but not how it relates to your mama, sorry) can be found at toxikk.com.
