Hunt: Showdown 1896 (previously called Hunt: Showdown) is a first-person extraction shooter video game created by Crytek. It was first available on Steam in early access on February 22, 2018, and on Xbox Game Preview on May 29, 2019. The full version of the game was released on August 27, 2019, for Microsoft Windows. It later became available on Xbox One on September 19, 2019, and on PlayStation 4 on February 18, 2020. In the game, players take on the role of a bounty hunter who must kill mythical monsters to collect bounties and survive long enough to reach an extraction point.

The game was originally developed by Crytek USA, which aimed to create a game inspired by Darksiders, a series made by Vigil Games, Crytek’s predecessor. It was initially planned as a team-based multiplayer game. However, Crytek USA closed in 2015 due to financial problems, and development moved to Crytek’s headquarters in Germany. The game was rebranded as Hunt: Showdown and re-announced in May 2017. It became a competitive multiplayer game where players fight against other players and AI-controlled enemies on a large map that resembles an open world. The game received mostly positive reviews when it was released, with praise for its unique gameplay.

An updated version of the game for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S was released on August 15, 2024, under the title Hunt: Showdown 1896. After this update, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game were removed from sale.

Gameplay

Hunt: Showdown is a multiplayer first-person shooter game with three gameplay modes. In "Bounty-Hunt," players take on the role of bounty hunters who must track and defeat one or two of the game’s six bosses to claim a reward. Players can play alone or team up with up to two others to find clues about a monster’s location on one of four maps. Each map is a medium-sized open world filled with environmental dangers and enemies, such as Grunts, Hives, or Armoreds. As players collect more clues, the location of the monster’s lair becomes clearer. The six boss monsters are The Butcher, the Spider, the Assassin, the Scrapbeak, and two Wildcard-targets, the Rotjaw and the Hellborn. Players use a variety of weapons, including shotguns, crossbows, exotic elephant guns, and rifles like the Mosin-Nagant, to defeat enemies. Ammo is limited, so players must aim carefully. They also have access to tools like traps and decoys. After defeating a monster, players collect the bounty and must survive until they reach one of the randomly placed extraction points on the map. Collecting a bounty allows players to see the general location of nearby players but also reveals their own location to others. Players can steal a bounty by killing another bounty holder, which is a key strategy in the game. Each match can include up to 12 players.

The game’s second mode, "Soul Survivor" (previously called Quickplay), is a battle royale that lasts 15 minutes. Players begin with basic equipment, such as a low-grade revolver, shotgun, or melee weapon. The goal is to find and activate four Rifts on the map (similar to clues in Bounty-Hunt) to trigger the Wellspring. As players explore, they can find better weapons and gear. The first player to activate the fourth Rift becomes the Wellspring Carrier and must defend themselves until they are the last player standing or deplete the Wellspring for a set amount of time. The winner can then use their collected traits and equipment to play as a Soul Survivor in the Bounty-Hunt mode.

In October 2024, a new mode called "Bounty Clash" was added. This mode is faster-paced and takes place in a single compound or location. A boss target is already defeated and waiting to be banished, and players compete to claim the bounty and reach an extraction point.

Development

Vigil Games, known for creating the Darksiders series, was closed by THQ in 2013 during the publisher’s bankruptcy. Crytek’s founder, Cevat Yerli, was interested in buying the Austin-based studio because of their work on Darksiders and Crytek’s plan to open a U.S. office there. However, Yerli believed Vigil’s products did not match Crytek’s business goals. After Vigil closed, Yerli hired David Adams, the studio’s leader, to manage the new Crytek USA. Crytek USA then hired many former Vigil employees. The new studio aimed to create new games, not reclaim rights to Darksiders. However, Nordic Games later acquired the rights to Darksiders.

In June 2014, Crytek USA announced its first game, Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age. The game was designed for four players to work together. Adams said the team decided early on to make a co-op game, as fans had often asked for this feature in future Darksiders games. Set in the late 1800s, the game includes weapons and character roles inspired by that time. Adams compared Hunt to The Order: 1886, a similar game, and said Hunt more accurately represented the era. Players can customize their characters with different skills, outfits, and weapons, such as a detective, a Western gunslinger, or a witch hunter.

Hunt: Showdown shares many features with the Darksiders series, including creative use of old-style game elements. Adams said the game would include many unique enemies and bosses, unlike typical shooters that often have only a few types of enemies. He noted that his team had experience designing diverse enemies from Darksiders, where he personally created 18 bosses in Darksiders II. The game uses randomly generated maps, obstacles, and missions, making each playthrough different. It is built using CryEngine, which Adams said made the older engine used for Darksiders look less advanced.

In July 2014, Crytek announced that development of Hunt would move to Crytek’s main studio, and Crytek USA would no longer operate as a separate studio but instead support CryEngine users in the U.S. Kotaku reported that many Crytek USA employees, including David Adams, left the company due to delayed paychecks. Similar issues had caused Crytek UK to shut down the same day, when the Homefront franchise was sold to Koch Media.

On May 16, 2017, Crytek released a YouTube teaser showing the game was still being developed under the new title Hunt: Showdown. In October 2017, Crytek announced via IGN First that the game would enter Early Access on Steam. A closed alpha test for PC began in January 2018 and ended on February 22, with Early Access launching the same day. The game was released for Xbox Game Preview on May 29, 2019.

Release

Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age was first announced to have a test version in late 2014. A planned release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was scheduled at that time. Hunt was initially planned to be a free-to-play game, but the developer, Adams, stated the game would still have the quality and size of a "AAA" title. The game was intended to earn money only through decorative items and experience boosts. However, when the game launched in Early Access on February 22, 2018, it used a pay-to-play model instead.

On December 13, 2014, Crytek delayed the planned closed beta for late 2014 without providing a new date or time frame. The delay occurred because the development team moved from their Austin studio to their Frankfurt team.

Hunt: Showdown was launched in Early Access on February 22, 2018. At the 2018 Gamescom event, it was announced that the game would be released on Xbox One through its Xbox Game Preview program.

On July 3, 2019, Crytek announced on the game's website that the official release would be on August 27, 2019, for Microsoft Windows. The Xbox One version was also scheduled for the same date but was delayed to September 19, 2019, due to technical problems. The game was released on PlayStation 4 on February 18, 2020.

In August 2024, Crytek updated the game's engine and released a new map. The game was relaunched as Hunt: Showdown 1896, and support for older consoles was removed. On December 12, the Post Malone's Murder Circus event was released and was set to run through February 2025.

Television series

In November 2021, Binge announced a live-action television series based on the game. Allan Ungar and Vince Talenti from Binge will be the producers, and Avni Yerli, Faruk Yerli, and Pascal Tonecker from Crytek will also be executive producers.

Reception

The game received "generally-favorable reviews" when it was first released, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. Critics praised the game for its new way of playing and noted that it offered a different experience compared to other multiplayer games, though some critics were not happy with the limited amount of content available at launch.

VG247 highlighted how hard it is to predict where enemies will come from or what they will do, saying that the game often includes surprising moments because it allows players to use creative strategies. Eurogamer mentioned that the game created a strong feeling of fear and suspense, comparing it to the game Rainbow Six: Siege. PCGamesN's Benjamin Griffin said that the game's sound design, such as the sounds of crows, creaking boardwalks, and horses, helped players feel tense and aware of their surroundings. Anthony McGlynn of PC Gamer appreciated the game's new take on the battle royale genre, noting that the focus on escaping rather than killing everyone was simple but effective. However, he pointed out that the limited number of maps and weapons made the game feel repetitive after some time.

The game was nominated for "Best Sound-Design for an Indie-Game" at the 18th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards.