Hunt: Showdown is now available on Steam Early Access

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Hunt: Showdown, the competitive supernatural bounty hunting game that we like very much (even though it suffers from a few issues) is now available to everyone on Steam Early Access. The game enables up to ten players, solo or in teams of two, to hunt monsters (and each other) for money across four missions set in "handcrafted sandbox" swamps of Louisiana.

Every mission follows the same basic path—find it, kill it, banish it, haul ass—but the game world promises to enable a great variety of play. The map features 16 unique locations "steeped in history and lore," with a day/night cycle, special sound cues, and "28 sandbox features to use strategically to distract or attract enemies." There are two boss targets to hunt in the Early Access release—the Spider and the Butcher—plus four AI enemies and randomly-generated "grunts," who you'll deal with using 33 unique pieces of equipment, with 17 variants.

Players will advance through three different types of progression: Hunter, which levels up individual character health and traits that are lost if that character dies; Bloodline, an account-wide progression line that unlocks gear, traits, higher-tier hunters, and in-game currency rewards; and Bloodline Prestige, which enables players to reset their Bloodline after reaching the maximum rank of 100. Stats will be tracked on leaderboards, and new stats, lore, and other features will be added as the Early Access period unfolds.

"Hunt: Showdown is an Early Access title, and players should note that they will experience crashes, as well as optimization, performance, and balancing issues," Crytek said. "We are dedicated to fixing major issues as quickly as possible, and to optimizing performance and balance. But some of these things will take time, and we ask for your patience as we continue to develop the game."

Hunt: Showdown is available on Steam for $30/£26/€30, and is expected to remain in Early Access for at least a year. Crytek warned that the price will "most likely" increase when it goes into full launch. System requirements for the Early Access release have also been updated.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.