Ubisoft’s free-to-play battle royale Hyper Scape has been out for a couple of months now. The fast-paced, futuristic shooter, which was originally announced in July, has been met with a lukewarm reaction and has seen Twitch viewer numbers regularly drop to below 1000. It’s safe to say that this wasn’t the launch that Ubisoft would have hoped for and is something that has prompted them to release an update on the game so far and what’s to come.
The statement starts with Ubisoft saying they were “thrilled” with how the game launched, however, since the successful beta, they say they “were not able to achieve the high expectations we set for ourselves with our full release on console that followed in August.” This tepid first couple of months has lead to the developers saying they are “taking action” and they are “fully committed to the challenge.”
They say that Hyper Scape has fallen down in five areas and that these are the “pillars we want to build the future of Hyper Scape on.” These areas are “Combat Comfort, Onboarding, Game Modes, Player Goals and Cross-Play.”
Ubisoft says that they are aware that the game’s skill ceiling is too high, resulting in too much of a “difficult experience for new players.” They are also aware that it can be too difficult to “aim, track and consistently damage players and eliminate them, especially on consoles.” This is partly due to how players are introduced to Hyper Scape, with a lack of training tools or time contributing to a difficult introductory period.
The lack of game modes is also an issue that Ubisoft has recognised, saying that the game’s Crown Rush mode “can be quite unforgiving”. This is something that will lead to changes within the game including respawns and a “deathmatch” mode.
In terms of player goals, Ubisoft feels that there aren’t enough “medium and long-term goals” to keep players interested in the game. Starting in Season 2, alongside the game’s new Turbo Mode, there will be a “player ranking system” as well as more unspecified progression systems.
Cross-Play will also be heading to the game earlier than anticipated, simply to help “address the current issues of lobby size.” This is arguably one of the biggest concerns for the developers, as it’s always worrying when a multiplayer game is having problems filling a lobby, especially less than two months after launching.
Ubisoft has a plan on how they’re going to implement these changes, saying:
“To deliver on these pillars, we are restructuring our development team into a cell-based format, which we have seen our colleagues on Rainbow Six: Siege use to fantastic results. These interdisciplinary cells allow greater focus and autonomy in tackling the work ahead. Each pillar has a dedicated dev cell.”
What do you think of Ubisoft’s plan for Hyper Scape? Will it do enough to make you jump in? Let us know in the comments below.
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