The Culling 2 goes live tomorrow

The announcement of The Culling 2 last month came as something of a surprise, given that it had only been six months since development of the original game had been halted. Developer Xaviant responded to questions about the timing and the fate of the first game a couple of days later, and said that the new game would be released "very soon." Today it clarified that by "very soon," it meant July 10, which is tomorrow. 

The Culling 2 will feature a larger arena than its predecessor and will put a much greater emphasis on firearms, although the melee system from the first game remains. Matches will support up to 50 players, which will encourage "fast and brutal" gameplay, Xaviant said, "while still accommodating players who prefer a more cautious approach." 

"Our team has spent three years building battle royale games from the ground up," Xaviant director of operations Josh Van Veld said. "We’ve taken all the lessons learned from the first title and poured them into this sequel. The Culling 2 represents our crystal-clear vision for what the genre should be: lean, mean, and a hell of a lot of fun." 

Unlike The Culling, which spent more than a year in Early Access on Steam, The Culling 2 will go straight into full release: Van Veld explained last month that calling a game "Early Access" doesn't change the fact that "every game launches once. If you make people aware of your game and offer it for sale, you've launched. Whatever label you apply doesn't change that." 

The Steam page doesn't currently indicate a price but Xaviant said The Culling 2 will go for $20 or a regional equivalent. 

Andy Chalk

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.