InXile Entertainment, the studio behind The Mage’s Tale (2018) and The Bard’s Tale series, are getting ready to move to closed beta for their upcoming team shooter, Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds.
Update (August 19th, 2020): Thirdverse Inc. and inXile entertainment are starting an invite-only beta for Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds, which will be held from August 24th until September 4th.
You can now sign up for your chance to participate in the closed beta. The closed beta is technically under NDA for capturing, sharing, or streaming the game, so it seems the only way to get eyes-on is by getting an invite yourself.
The studios say the when the open beta for Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds launches later this year, players who participate and meet specific playtime requirements will be provided with a free copy of the game at launch. Nifty.
Original Article (July 29th, 2020): Frostpoint VR is set in a dilapidated military training base in Antarctica where “strange biomechanical creatures now roam,” the studio says.
The game, which will be published by Thirdverse, the successor to Japan-based company Yomuneco, is said to include over a dozen weapons which not only help you fight off the opposing team of players, but also the so-called ‘Reclaimers’, which seem to spawn from the ground.
Check out the announce trailer below:
The studio appears to be honing in on a level of realism—at least with its guns—as you can “realistically hold each with one or two hands, and load, rack, fire, and clear them, as well as change firing modes,” the studio explains. “Tools and munitions help round out your arsenal, including grenades, health kits, armor upgrades, turrets, and tracking upgrades.”
Both a Steam and Oculus Store version are coming; supported headsets include Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index. An open beta is said to arrive “in the near future” in preparation for a launch later this year.
InXile says it’s been working on Frostpoint for a number of years in secret, and that it represents a first for the studio in a number of ways. It’s certainly the studio’s first team-based FPS, which boasts 10v10 gameplay entirely targeted at VR players.
Large-scale VR multiplayer games are risky moves since the pool of potential players is small in comparison to traditional monitor and console games. If the studio can’t manage to bring anything significantly new to the table in terms of gameplay, Frostpoint VR could be at risk of ending up like many (many) multiplayer VR titles before it by either becoming cult classics that manage to attract a hardcore group of players, or a veritable ghost town. We’re certainly hoping for the former.