Developer Automaton has officially revealed Mavericks: Proving Grounds, a battle royale shooter that the studio belives will be the next evolution of the increasingly popular battle royale genre. Mavericks, previously known as Project X, was revealed via a short teaser trailer during a livestream this weekend, but details on the game are scarce. Still, Automaton hopes this will be enough to entice players.

The big, up-front pitch for Mavericks is that it will feature a massive 400-player battle royale mode for 4-player squads. A more standard 100-player mode for solo players is also planned for later this year, in what Automaton is calling its "Phase 1" release. Phase 2 will push the game even further, creating a massive RPG environment that can support as many as 1000 players.

More players should mean more action and more fun, so it's understandable why a pitch like "400 Players" is immediately exciting. But clearly, there's much more going on with Mavericks than just its player count.

What will ultimately define Mavericks' success are the changes to the current battle royale formula, which are necessary to allow increased player populations. According to Automaton, Mavericks will step away from the "shrinking battleground" mechanic that games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds use. The shrinking shield, as it is, allows these games to keep players far enough apart that the servers aren't overwhelmed.

While Automaton remained vague in describing how it plans to change the battle royale format, it did offer some hints. Mavericks will employ a mix of obstacles and goals spread throughout a map, maintaining the same plan of keeping players measuredly separated while still encouraging consistent action. These obstacles are said to include interactive environmental elements as well as destructive elements, but no specifics were mentioned.

The first phase of Mavericks: Proving Grounds is tentatively planned for release later this year. Those interested can register for the game's mail-list via an official website, which will eventually provide beta details. The second phase, featuring more MMO-esque content, is planned for 2019. Stay tuned for more information on this interesting new battle royale game in the months ahead.

Source: PC Gamer