Six characters and three game modes have been profiled in a barrage of videos for Amazon Game Studios' "Crucible," a slick-looking May 20 release that's positioning itself for a piece of the free-to-play pie.
Looking like it's equal parts team shooter and battle arena, "Crucible" is being readied to take a chunk out of big hitters like "Overwatch," "Fortnite," "Dota 2" and even a pre-launch "Valiant."
After a week of character profiles, Amazon Game Studios is showcasing three game modes from its third-person perspective multiplayer action game ahead of a May 20 debut on PC.
(Console launches have not been announced, but are expected to follow in due course).
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The Heart of Hives mode has two teams of four fighting against each other -- so far, so familiar for fans of "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," "Overwatch" and the upcoming "Valorant" -- as well as a selection of AI enemies.
If that addition of server-controlled grunts sounds a lot like esports giants "Dota 2" and "League of Legends," then the Harvester Command takes the comparison even further, as two sides -- now expanded to eight players each -- compete to collect the most resources. Then they can level up their characters and gain a power advantage over the other team.
Alpha Hunters, by contrast, implicitly acknowledges the impact of battle royale games "PUBG," "Fortnite," "Apex Legends," "Call of Duty: Warzone" and "Free Fire."
While its 16-player headcount might be dwarfed by many of its fully fledged competitors, the mode throws a couple of curveballs into the mix: temporary alliances can be forged by hunters who survived their partners, but dynamics revert to free-for-all should they progress to the final three.
"Crucible" is to be the first of two large-scale video games from Amazon Game Studios in 2020, with online MMO "New World" expected in August.
