The Cycle: Frontier (originally called The Cycle) was a 2022 first-person shooter video game created and released by Yager Development. Yager describes the game as a "competitive quest shooter" and categorizes it as a mix of two gameplay styles, called "PvEvP," which stands for player versus environment and player versus player. The game was made available for Windows as a pre-release version in August 2019 and officially launched on June 8, 2022.

In June 2023, Yager announced that the game servers would shut down on September 27, 2023. After this date, the game could no longer be played.

Gameplay

The Cycle: Frontier is a game where players control the main character and compete against others. It is similar to another game called Escape from Tarkov. The game is set in a future where humans can travel between stars. Players live on a space station named Prospect Station and are sent to a dangerous planet called Fortuna III as mercenaries. Their job is to explore, find items, and complete tasks before leaving the planet. If players lose their equipment and it is not protected, they will not get it back after dying. Three groups—the Independent Civilian Advisory (ICA), Osiris, and Korolev—offer missions for players to complete. Players can choose to play alone, with one other person, or in a group of three. Each game session lasts six hours before resetting. The game started with two maps and includes features like making tools, customizing gear and character looks, and a system called a "battle pass" to earn rewards.

Development

The first plans for making The Cycle: Frontier began shortly after Yager finished working on Dreadnought. The game was shown to the public at Gamescom 2018, which was eight months after the plans started. The goal was to create a story that included how players interact with each other. The game was made available for early testing on the Epic Games Store in August 2019.

The release on Steam, which was originally planned for December 2020, was delayed until early 2021. This delay happened because the development team changed their plans and faced challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2023, Yager announced that the servers for The Cycle: Frontier would stop operating on September 27, 2023. The company explained that continuing to support the game was no longer financially possible. They also noted that the game could not be played offline or on private servers because it uses a special system that does not allow the game to remain accessible after the servers are shut down.

Reception

The game The Cycle: Frontier received "mixed or average" reviews, as reported by Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews. Similar feedback appears in the Steam Store Reviews.

PC Gamer criticized the game's repetitive design, stating, "Without a story or reason to care, and without any surprising or different elements, a list of things to unlock doesn't make me want to spend time playing."

The game became popular when streamer Summit1g played it on Twitch.

It reached a high of 40,854 active players in June 2022, but the number of players decreased over time.