Half-Life: Alyx (2020) is one of the most moddable VR games out there, which has spawned high-quality DLC and some impressively detailed levels. Now, the developer behind ‘Gunman Contracts’—one of the best HLA mods out there—says we’re getting a full, standalone title next year.
Called Gunman Contracts – Stand Alone, the single player game is heading for Steam Early Access sometime next year, which is said to include core features such as customizable weapons, shooting challenges, and demo areas.
While initially announced last year with release targeting early 2024, Gunman Contracts mod developer ‘ANB_Seth’ announced they’re now teaming up with games publisher 2080 Games, which was founded by Mike from YouTube channel Virtual Reality Oasis.
2080 Games is partially funding the development of the title, allowing the solo developer to focus on creating the game full-time.
ANB_Seth says the first mission is currently in progress, however the game is expected to evolve over two to three years with player feedback guiding updates. The full version aims to include five to six contracts and various game modes. Initial Early Access pricing is said to start low and increase as more content is added over time.
Notably, the action-movie-inspired shooter will be playable both in VR and in non-VR, letting you become a professional hitman who takes on “ruthless forces in the criminal underworld, bringing justice and order in the world beyond the reach of law – one contract at a time,” the game’s Steam page says.
And since it’s a standalone title, you won’t technically need to own Half-Life: Alyx—but you probably should anyway. Although born from the developer’s work on Gunman Contracts – Chapter 1 & Chapter 2, Gunman Contracts – Stand Alone is said to be new from the ground-up, which includes all new missions, selectable and configurable from the gunman’s base of operations where you’ll store all of your pistols, rifles, shotguns, knives and even archery kit.
While initially targeting PC VR headsets, ANB_Seth says the connections and expertise of 2080 Games will make future ports of the full release version “actually realistic” on Quest or PSVR 2.
In the meantime, you can follow along with development over on the Gunman Contacts Discord channel (invite link) for all the latest info.