Amazon's sci-fi PvP shooter Crucible arrives on May 20

Amazon has announced that the free-to-play Crucible will be launching on PC on May 20. Crucible is a competitive team-based shooter containing elements of PvP and PvE. Players will need to hunt down members of the opposing team, fight weird alien creatures, and complete mission objectives to win.

Players begin each match by choosing from a roster of ten hunters, including interstellar trucker Earl, robot botanist Bugg, and Summer, a former welder who wields a flamethrower. During matches, as well as fighting opponents, players will need to collect a resource named essence. This allows hunters to level up, increasing their power and enhancing their abilities.

Crucible will have three games modes at launch. In Heart of the Hives, two teams of four are tasked with battling giant hives in a race to collect three "Hearts". Harvester Command asks teams of eight to capture and hold harvesters spread across the map. Alpha Hunters is a straightforward elimination match, in which eight two-player teams battle to be the last squad standing.

Crucible is one of several games that Amazon Games is launching. The company is also making the fantasy MMO New World, and has plans to release a free-to-play Lord of the Rings MMO.

Rachel Watts

Rachel had been bouncing around different gaming websites as a freelancer and staff writer for three years before settling at PC Gamer back in 2019. She mainly writes reviews, previews, and features, but on rare occasions will switch it up with news and guides. When she's not taking hundreds of screenshots of the latest indie darling, you can find her nurturing her parsnip empire in Stardew Valley and planning an axolotl uprising in Minecraft. She loves 'stop and smell the roses' games—her proudest gaming moment being the one time she kept her virtual potted plants alive for over a year.