Hunt

The closed alpha test for Hunt: Showdown has finally been given a date to start and it falls right into the January projected timeline that was claimed for Hunt: Showdown

If you have been patiently, or not-so-patiently, waiting to give Hunt: Showdown a solid try and help the team make the game better, then note now that the wait is almost over. The start date for the Closed Alpha test that Crytek told us about last year has finally been set. Get ready for January 31^st as you could be part of the Hunt: Showdown testing team for the PC version of the game. It is still coming to the PS4 and Xbox One in final game form, but for now, it will only be the PC gamers out there who can have a chance to join in the fun and help shape the game. It is kind of how the world works at this point so do not get too down.

For those still hanging on here, you can sign up to join the Closed Alpha test for Hunt: Showdown, if you have not already and then cross your fingers as the team, will randomly grab players from the pool and give them access. More or less, this is how these things kind of go so that should be no surprise. Thankfully, though, this will be a set of tests to iron out some of the game's bugs and balance issues as well as other things in the game and not just a server stress test. The team will give us access to what is in the most recent build as well as add to Hunt: Showdown over the course of the test to flesh things out even more. It makes sense so they can be sure that everything is balanced for full launch and not just based on the first set of feedback given.

Currently there is no end date for this Closed Alpha test for Hunt: Showdown but there is a start date. My guess is that it will run until there is enough feedback to make some major changes to the game and then push out the next build, but it could last for as long as the servers are still live and not falling. I have a feeling we will no more of the specifics once we get closer to January 31^st and the start of it all.

Starting on January 31^st, a select group of PC gamers will be able to play Hunt: Showdown regularly as part of the game's Closed Alpha testing phase, via Steam. During Closed Alpha, the Hunt team will be testing gameplay, balancing, and backend functionality, as well as collecting feedback from the community. Closed Alpha testers will be randomly chosen from the sign-up list, and those chosen will receive an email invite.

Hunt: Showdown is a competitive multiplayer bounty hunting game that mixes PvP with PvE elements in a handcrafted sandbox environment. During each match up to ten players, hunting solo or in teams of two, track and kill gruesome monsters for a bounty—when they aren't tracking and killing each other in order to steal it. During Hunt's Closed Alpha phase new content—in the form of new weapons, equipment, traits, and ranks—will be continuously released and tested.

Invitations for the Hunt Closed Alpha will be sent out in multiple waves, and it is still possible to sign up at huntshowdown.com/signup.

Are you looking to join in on Hunt: Showdown's Closed Alpha test or will you let all of the other gamers out there find the issues and get them fixed for you? Do you think this will be an open-ended kind of test or will there be a final date set down for when it will all come to a close? How much of the content do you think that Crytek will give us before shutting it down and prepping the final build for deployment? Let us have all of those thoughts down in the comments and then discuss. As we get more on Hunt: Showdown, we will have it here for you. Just keep checking back in to keep as up to date on it all as possible.