Crytek’s online co-op title Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age now known as Hunt: Showdown, will be at E3 2017

By Stephany Nunneley

Well, this came out of nowhere.

Original article: Crytek has released a teaser video for this next title, Hunt: Showdown, and if it sounds familiar to you, your memory is a lot better than ours. Then again, we can’t remember why we walked into the next room sometimes.

Announced back in June 2014 by Crytek USA as Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, the game was described as free-to-play, four-player co-op action shooter set in the 1800s. It tasked players with battling procedurally-generated waves of monstrosities and bosses. As a F2P title, it would be monetized by selling cosmetic items and experience boosts

Closed beta was slated to start on PC later that year, but in July 2014, development was moved from Crytek USA based in Austin, Texas to Crytek’s Frankfurt studio. The Austin studio switched from game development to a CryEngine support office.

The studio was made up of 35 former Vigil Games employees which developed the first two Darksiders titles. The franchise was never part of Crytek’s plan though, as it didn’t “fit” with the company’s strategy, according to Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli.

Vigil Games co-founder David Adams left Crytek USA just three weeks prior to the studio’s transition from game development to CryEngine support. He then formed a new Austin, Texas studio called Gunfire Games, took a few former Crytek USA staffers with him.

Both Vigil and Darksiders were owned by THQ and put up on the action block when the firm declared bankruptcy. Neither the studio nor the IP were nibbled on by potential buyers. Nordic Games, now, Nordic THQ, eventually came to the rescue though, and Gunfire Games is currently developing Darksiders 3.

With the history lesson out of the way, we can say that at present, it’s unknown if Hunt: Showdown has just undergone a name change or a complete revamp.

With E3 2017 just around the corner, it’s possible we will get another look at either the Microsoft or Sony presentations. Unless, of course, it’s now PC-only. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Update: Crytek has confirmed it will show the “very first” gameplay from Hunt: Showdown at E3 2017, but only to “select partners and media” – which may mean closed doors sessions rather than a public debut. It did say we’d all get “more details about the game” at E3, though.

The company also took the time to say a little bit more about the reimagined Hunt, which it now describes as a “PvP monster hunter”.

“Based on the previously announced title Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, Crytek’s Hunt: Showdown has taken the original concept in a different direction under a new development team,” Crytek said.