Hunt: Showdown's update roadmap includes an engine upgrade in early 2024
New UI, new biome, and weapon inspecting to come
Hunt: Showdown is one of our favourite multiplayer games. If you love dying in bushes, it might be one of yours, too. Developers Crytek have now outlined their roadmap of coming updates between now and the middle of 2024, and it includes an engine upgrade and new minimum specs.
Crytek are upgrading Hunt to run on CryEngine 5.11, with plans to release it in early 2024. The update will bring a new map (with a new biome) designed to act as a showcase for the engine upgrade's new graphical bells and whistles, which include DirectX 12, FSR 2.1.2, and HDR. The trade-off is that the game's minimum spec will rise to an Intel 7th gen CPU (or equivalent and an Nvidia GTX1650 Super (or equivalent). The current minimum specs on Steam mention an Intel i5-4590 and a GTX 660.
"After five and a half years of Hunt, we wrestled with the numbers and reviewed the install base," says Hunt general manager David Fifield. "Among active users, these upgrades should impact less than 10% of the community, while greatly enhancing the experience for the other 90 percent."
For console users, this upgrade will spell the end of support for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in April 2024, but free upgrades will be available to new console versions on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.
There are other updates on the way, including a UI overhaul to coincide with the engine upgrade. Before that, there will be gamepad support, changes to progression and base weapon unlocks, a matchmaking refactor, and a gradual rollout of the ability to inspect your weapons in-game.