5 years after shutting down, MOBA hero shooter Gigantic is coming back

20.02.2024 - 17:33 / polygon.com

In 2018, less than a year after MOBA-hero shooter hybrid Gigantic launched, developer Motiga announced the game’s closure. Despite the initially positive reception to Gigantic’s colorful mash-up of two popular genres, the game “did not resonate with as many players as we’d hoped,” developers said at the time.

Gigantic will get a second lease on life in 2024, however, with the launch of Gigantic: Rampage Edition. Unlike the previous free-to-play version of the game, Gigantic: Rampage Edition will be a paid game — it will cost $19.99 — and won’t have the original’s ongoing live-service ambitions.

But Gigantic: Rampage Edition will feature new content, and will come to more platforms when it launches officially on April 9. It’s bound for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X — the original game was only released on PC and Xbox One. A closed beta will launch on Steam this Thursday, Feb. 22. Interested players can sign up for a chance to play at Rampage Edition’s Steam page.

Gigantic was a third-person shooter with MOBA mechanics. Two teams of five heroes, each with upgradeable abilities, battled each other to control objectives and take down the opposing team’s Guardian — a giant creature that was the equivalent of a Nexus in League of Legends or Ancient in Dota 2. Gigantic: Rampage Edition will retain that style of gameplay, with a few tweaks.

The revival of Gigantic is being handled by Abstraction Games. The Netherlands-based studio may be best known for its work co-developing similar revivals, like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition will boast new features, like crossplay on all platforms, a new ranked system, quality of life features, and content that original developer Motiga didn’t get a chance to implement. Bart Vossen, senior game designer at Abstraction, told Polygon in an interview that the developers “respect what the original developers did and respect what players loved about it,” while also completing some of Motiga’s unused work.

That includes bringing new heroes to the Gigantic: Rampage Edition roster. Newcomers Roland, described as a “world-hardened man, who lost his arm, but gained unparalleled reach,” and Kajir, a feline with a taste for fighting, will join the preexisting 23 heroes from Gigantic.

There’s also two new maps, Picaro Bay and Heaven’s Ward, and a new Rush Mode that promises a “more accessible, fast-paced, and action-packed [...] streamlined Gigantic experience.” Additional cosmetics are also en route to ensure that every hero has a variety of styles. Those cosmetics will be released for free, and Abstraction has plans for rotating seasons with cosmetic rewards and gameplay balance