Wargaming is perhaps best known for World of Tanks and World of Warships franchise, but it seems intent on adding another household name to that list: Steel hunter. Wargaming pulled back the curtain on this new title at The Game Awards 2024. Its latest IP, Steel hunter is a free-to-play PvPvE Mech game with elements from the hero shooter, battle royale and extraction genres.
IN Steel hunterplayer is not a pilot operating a mech; the mechs, known as hunters, have brought souls to battle for Starfall. A cataclysmic event has left humanity nearly extinct and struggling for survival, its future dependent on a rare alien resource known as Starfall. This material is scattered throughout the devastated Earth, with mega-corporations and other factions using the Hunters to wage war against each other for this resource.
As Wargaming's take on a hero shooter, each Hunter is a fully-fledged character with their own distinct playstyle, kit and progression system. Games can be won by extracting 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 like they were taken straight out of the popular hero shooter genre, but the game taps into the popularity of battle royale and extraction games. An important difference is that Steel hunter emphasizes tactics and understanding team comps and individual hunters over having quick reflexes (as seen in traditional shooters).
Hunter
A crucial aspect of it is Duo Symbiosis, where players can combine tactics and abilities with another Hunter. In general, each hunter's build and tactics can be customized with unique gear combinations (and of course collectibles and cosmetics) to create unique strategies when facing other hunters on the hunting grounds. While it remains to be seen how customization works, from a gameplay and cosmetic perspective, the design of each Mech opens a lot of doors. These Mechs aren't just humanoids, like the Heartbreaker or Trenchwalker, but some borrow elements of animal design, like Ursus and Fenris.
Although it remains to be seen when fans can fully dive into The Hunting Grounds Steel huntersome fans will be able to check out what the game has to offer a little earlier. Steel hunter is hosting a 10-day closed playtest via PC, and fans can expect more news in 2025.
Wargaming
- Date founded
- August 2, 1988
- Head office
- Minsk, Belarus
