One of the latest addition to the battle royale hype, Scavengers Studio's Darwin Project, is now free to play on Steam. The game entered in Early Access in early March, costing $15 and became free-to-play on April 20, still in Early Access, on Steam. Nevertheless, the Xbox One version of the game still carries a price tag of $15.

The decision to go free-to-play comes following complaints by community members regarding longer queue times and difficulty finding matches in lesser populated servers. This move aims to bring in more players and maintain a decent level of activity.

As with other games in the genre, Darwin Project pits 10 players in an arena to fight to the death. The game also has some original features like the "Show Director" where one player is the host and master who controls the arena with nuclear bombs, zone closures, gravity storms, and the power of their voice. It also supports live spectator interactions where stream viewers can also bet live on the competitors they think will reign supreme, in addition to helping the Show Director choose targets for their arena-shaping powers.

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Scavengers Studio also promises to never go pay-to-win by selling items that give a competitive advantage. But rather, cosmetic items will be the ones that will carry an actual price tag.

If you own Darwin Project, you’ll receive the Founder’s Pack containing 2 Legendary sets, 3 Legendary Axes, 3 Legendary Bows, a full jumpsuit collection, and 5 Fan Gifts. It will be added to your inventory on Tuesday, April 24. Over 200 cosmetic items that players can unlock by gaining Fans and leveling up will also be added on April 24.

Darwin Project Steam Page

 

[orangy57]

Oh lordy that movement looks so janky, and the UI looks like it was ripped right from overwatch

 

[DeslotlCL]

At least it isnt radical heights

 

[Deleted User]

Another Battle Royale game? Yawn.

 

[ov3rkill]

There's just not enough battle royale game. Keep em coming. We need moar!

 

[CMDreamer]

On Steam? Thanks, but not even being free will make me install that junk called Steam... -_-

 

[cots]

FPS suck.

 

[Deathbot64]

FPS suck.

That was third person the whole trailer

 

[SonicRings]

On Steam? Thanks, but not even being free will make me install that junk called Steam... -_-

You sure you're not thinking of Origin or UPlay?

 

[cots]

That was third person the whole trailer

Oops, there I go making assumptions. I had no idea these type of games are 3rd person.

 

[leon315]

i guess players are finally tired of zombie games...

 

[KingVamp]

I may just give it a shot. From what I've I seen and read, I don't know about the director tho, can easily be bothersome.

 

[JellyPerson]

These games are like the next Minecraft.
Big for a while but now that battle Royale games are mainstream, no one plays Minecraft anymore. These games are like fidget spinner tbh

 

[Deleted User]

These games are like the next Minecraft.
Big for a while but now that battle Royale games are mainstream, no one plays Minecraft anymore. These games are like fidget spinner tbh

There are plenty of people who still play Minecraft. They've just become less prevalent and less vocal in recent years.

Kind of ironic, too, considering these games are essentially just riffing off of the whole Minecraft Hunger Games idea.

 

[James310]

Every E3 game this year will likely be a Battle Royale Game they are starting to over use it now...

 

[Kipz]

So, while this is easy to pass off as "another BR game", having played it since Alpha i can confirm this is much more. There's less of a focus on looting and more focus on combat, since your two weapons (axe and bow) are given to you from the start. The "show director" replaces most of the classic RNG zones of BR games and instead has a real person making decisions (restricting zones, giving people buffs, dropping super powerful loot drops that allow you to craft "abilities", and more). There's also a focus on crafting, but you get a crafting wheel and can customize what types of things you are able to craft (a normal arrow that lets you start with 5 instead of crafting more? or a tracking arrow that lets you see where your opponents are for the next 10 seconds, but you don't start with any?) It's tons of fun and a nice unique twist on BR games.

 

[Stephano]

Minecraft Hunger Games > Fornite/PUBG

 

[Hells Malice]

It's a pretty fun game. Tbh I hate playing, but being the director is a lot of fun.

 

[chrisrlink]

I played fornite and damn i got so scared cause 5 ppl got eliminated in 3 seconds (was even using ps3 controller to get a better control of my character nah I'll stick to MMORPGs and away from PVP

 

[TehCupcakes]

On Steam? Thanks, but not even being free will make me install that junk called Steam... -_-

You're apparently not a PC gamer so I don't think they were targeting you anyway.