The Cycle is a ‘competitive quester’ from Spec Ops: The Line studio

Over the weekend, independent developer Yager announced a new game. The studio behind Spec Ops: The Line is working now working on The Cycle. Billed as a “competitive quester,” everything about The Cycle seems like a far cry from The Line.

According to Yager, The Cycle is a “match-based” first-person shooter. Players attempt to complete quests during matches, which take twenty minutes a pop. Interestingly, The Cycle places as much of an emphasis on social interaction as solid shooting. To complete missions in-game, players have to make — and break — alliances with one another.

“These social dynamics add a special twist to the game,” wrote Yager’s Timo Ullman in a recent press release. “Anyone can attack anyone, and anyone can ally with anyone. Players can be cooperative and competitive at the same time. So if you meet new players on your way, anything can happen.”

The Cycle‘s blend of quest-based matches and emergent, player-driven gameplay sounds promising. Uneasy alliances and impromptu shootouts are a big part of what makes online games memorable. And in The Cycle, it seems as though players will either thrive or die based off of their experiences with one another.

Interestingly, Yager states that The Cycle stems from an internal pitch jam. The prototype’s mashup of “[session-based] FPS matches and quest objectives in an open world” led to the game’s competitive quester classification. From there, The Cycle‘s science-fiction setting took place as the studio began development in early 2018.

In The Cycle, players undertake missions on Fortuna III. The alien planet is beautiful, hostile, and an opportunity for massive corporate “Factions” to stake their money-hungry claims. That’s where players come in. As contractors hired by these Factions, players will hunt bounties and secure resources for their employers, all while helping — or harming — other players.

Contractual Obligations

Some of The Cycle‘s features include:

• A new Frontier: Explore the world of Fortuna III – a hostile, beautiful new world, full of fortune, alien life, and other players looking to take its riches.
• Storm: The cycle leaves only a narrow window of opportunity – stay too long, and you will be trapped on the planet.
• Pacting: Players can meet on the surface of Fortuna III and join uneasy alliances with one another as they complete contracts
• Black Market: Players have a wide arsenal of weapons and gear available to them, all with different playstyles, that can be purchased during a match
• Crafting: Players can spend their precious credits on creating new gear to take into the next match
• Quests: Shooting may give you an edge – but the best prospectors are those who can take on dangerous jobs for factions during a match
• Customization: A wide selection of gear that players progress through, tailoring their character to their individual playstyle, with more options regularly added

The Cycle will launch as an early access title later this year. Yager intends to hold alpha tests in the near future. Players interested in experiencing the alpha can sign up for access on the game’s official website.