Hyper Scape To Receive Overhaul 3 Months After Launch
To say that Hyper Scape has struggled since its PC release in July would be a polite understatement. Listening to fan critiques and a dwindling playerbase, developer Ubisoft Montreal has promised to overhaul the free-to-play title just three months after it launched. Despite a "hyped" console release in August, Hyper Scape has been plagued with problems and struggled to populate its queue with enough players to even get a match off the ground.
With so many first-person-shooters out there, it's a competitive market that's notoriously hard to crack and will obviously lead to questions over whether this game is the next Call of Duty, Apex Legends, or VALORANT. Sadly, it seems Hyper Scape has fallen far short of being compared to any of the above.
- Read More: Is Hyper Scape Dead On Arrival?
Realising the title's own grim prognosis, Ubisoft explained what has to change in a September 30 blog post. In the article titled "Hyper Scape: Where we are, and where we are going", the team showcased a new roadmap of what players (yes, you're out there somewhere) can expect.
It read, "We were not able to achieve the high expectations we set for ourselves with our full release on console that followed in August. We also know we didn’t fully meet the high expectations of our players, so we are taking action. We have more work to do to get there, but our team is fully committed to the challenge".
Breaking down the overhaul into five clear sections, Ubisoft outlined changes into combat comfort, onboarding, game modes, player goals, and cross play. As well as lowing the floor when it comes to the skill new players need to take part, this idea was rolled over into onboarding and the promise of more training to make sure newcomers are well-equipped to enjoy Hyper Scape.
Elsewhere, Ubisoft acknowledged the core mode of Crown Rush can be "quite unforgiving", and teased there will be new deathmatch-style modes and a change to how limited-time events are handled. Finally, there will be a Player Ranking system as part of Season 2, while cross-play is also being added earlier than planned to help alleviate those lacklustre lobby sizes.
All in all, Ubisoft is making some bold claims, but is it a case of too little too late? You could argue that Hyper Scape won't even be the game it was originally planned as. However, that might not be a bad thing.
A solid marketing campaign and promise of Twitch integration to mix things up a bit were supposed to see Hyper Scape soar to the top of the streaming charts. Instead, it's being outshone by the likes of Fall Guys and the recent boom in Among Us' popularity - baffling considering it came out in 2018. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong with Hyper Scape, because let's be honest, the idea of it being a "Game as a spectacle" was a unique USP.
Devs noticed that fans are streaming game just as much as they're playing them, meaning Hyper Scape was specifically designed with Twitch in mind. This integration meant streamers could directly affect the outcome of matches by activating tweaks like unlimited ammo, low-gravity, or revealing everyone's location on the minimap. The problem is, Ubisoft is struggling to get anyone involved as a player, let alone stream on Twitch.
Will this overhaul finally give Hyper Scape a new lease of life or is this one lame duck that needs to be put out to pasture? Watch this space.
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Images via Ubisoft
