Ah, Hawken. Since the earliest footage in 2011 and right up until the PC servers were eventually shut down in 2018, it had undergone immeasurable updates, changes and even switched hands a fair bit as far as IP owners goes. Now, it’s staging a comeback on PC as Hawken Reborn, and it’s adopting a different gameplay tact this time around.
Hawken Reborn is making its return as a purely single-player PvE experience, a very different form to the previous version of the game which was a multiplayer PvP joint. 505 Games is reportedly looking to implement co-operative multiplayer next, with the sky the limit when it comes to anything else in the distant future,
The game’s Senior Producer Brian Decker told PC Gamer, who were able to try out the new game ahead of launch, “By going PvE, it lowers the barrier to entry a little bit with people who might see a PvP game and get discouraged, just because they think they don’t have the skill set needed to come in,” with 505 “focusing on the PvE, the narrative, the world.”
“There is something very engaging about playing games, especially mech games, with other people,” Decker adds in the report, “So the co-op is our sort of chance to tick that box … to let you enjoy the experience with your friends.”
Take a look at the Reveal Trailer for Hawken Reborn below:
Hawken Reborn launches in early access as soon as tomorrow, May 17th, exclusively on PC via Steam and as a free-to-play product. Revenue will come from the ability for players to speed up the process of crafting new mechs, weapons and other gear by paying real money for materials. It won’t feature loot boxes, and cosmetics aren’t yet a feature of Hawken Reborn but seemingly will be in the future.
Grab Hawken Reborn here when it launches on May 17 at 6PM AEST.
