Developer Challenger Games this week announced that their up and coming third-person team-based shooter ‘Second Wave’ will be entering Early Access on PC via Steam on the 30th of May (May 31, 2024 KST). PlayStation and Xbox consoles are to follow at a later date. The company’s CEO Tamura Koji says that this test will be essential in gathering feedback on the game during its development, as they look at a 2025 timeframe for the release of Second Wave.
Most recently shown back at an ID@Xbox X IGN stream back in 2023 as well as having an alpha beta test that same year, Second Wave will be coming back in a more playable state with more content and playable characters—with lots of lore you can read up on the game’s official site. The full game will support cross-play across devices, similar to the company’s latest social deduction game ‘iLLANG’.
Per the Steam community post as well as the company’s press release:
Greetings Heroes of Armantia!
Since our last update with our Beta in October 2023, we’ve been hard at work on Second Wave. We had so much feedback and of course over 20,000 players who tried the game. Since then, we have seen the outcry from the community, and we feel that the game is now ready for Early Access.
What does this mean for you?
Although we originally planned to release Second Wave at the end of 2024, we realized that we needed to take more time to develop the game. As of now, our timeline is 2025, but we will keep the game in Early Access, which means that players will be able to test the game, give us direct feedback, and help shape the game with us. Second Wave’s Early Access will begin on May 30, 2024 (May 31, 2024 KST) via the Steam platform on PC.
Why Steam? What about PlayStation and Xbox?
We felt this was necessary because, unlike the other platforms, we can freely update the game without too many delays. While Steam gives us a way to push an update, especially if it’s important, it can take a few days on other platforms like PlayStation or Xbox and would typically be released on a Tuesday. That said, Early Access will be coming to both Xbox and PlayStation at a later date.
We will be doing a lot of events in Second Wave to commemorate the early access period, such as earning crystals, cosmetics, and more. But the question we have seen since our first teaser on YouTube is “What exactly has changed in Second Wave?” Without giving too much away, we’d like to give you a little insight.
For the Early Access phase of Second Wave, we have redesigned the overall look of Trestyn. The map you may have seen in the Alpha or Beta is now a memory and has been replaced with a more detailed map that fits our vision. Please keep in mind that the polishing, such as colors, textures, etc. are not yet finished.
For the full announcement, including an in-depth look at what has changed, make sure to visit our website at: https://www.playsecondwave.com/en/announcements/early-access-date-announcement/
Challengers Games (CEO Tamura Koji) stated that in this early access, players can enjoy various content available in Second Wave, including character-to-character combat, skill play, three game modes, hero storage, and 17 characters with diverse characteristics to experience the fun of team-based shooting games. Additionally, they mentioned the enjoyment of growth through repeated combats with in-game items, specific hero skins, monsters with AI implemented through Behavior Trees, AI mode, a multiplayer practice range to test character performance and playstyles before the game, in-game tutorials, and tutorials outside the game.
Furthermore, CEO Tamura Koji said, “We started development in July 2022 and have been conducting alpha and beta tests on the Steam platform, but I still consider this game to be in the early stages of development. To make Second Wave an appealing game, it’s important to continue efforts until the project is completed, taking feedback from users. Second Wave introduces various characters with distinct personalities and differentiated game modes to enjoy the fun of team-based shooting games. To evolve Second Wave into an even more appealing game, we believe your help is needed, so we decided to release it as an early access.”
