''The Cycle: Frontier'' (formerly titled ''The Cycle'') was a 2022

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Yager Development Yager Development GmbH is a German video game developer based in Berlin. History Yager Development GmbH was founded in 1999 by five friends from East Berlin: Timo Ullmann, Uwe Beneke, Roman Golka, Philipp Schellbach and Mathias Wiese. Ullma ...

. Yager describes this game as a "competitive quest shooter" and labels it with the cross-genre "PvEvP", a combination of

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and

player versus player Player versus player (PvP) is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between human players. This is often compared to player versus environment (PvE), in which the game itself controls its players' opponents and is usually of ...

. The game was released on

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via

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in August 2019, and was launched in full on June 8, 2022. In June 2023, Yager announced that the game servers would be

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on September 27, 2023, at which point it would no longer be playable.

Gameplay

''The Cycle: Frontier'' is a

, with a play style that has been compared to ''

Escape from Tarkov ''Escape from Tarkov'' is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game in development by Battlestate Games for Microsoft Windows. The game is set in the fictional Norvinsk region in northwestern Russia, where a war is taking place b ...

''. Set in a future where interstellar travel is possible, the game focuses on a group of humans living on a space station called the ''Prospect Station''. Players take on the role of prospectors; mercenaries tasked with the job of landing on a dangerous planet called Fortuna III. Players have to compete against each other, as well as the unforgiving environment, scavenging loot and completing quests before extracting. Any equipment not insured will be permanently lost in case of death. Three major factions, the Independent Civilian Advisory (ICA), Osiris, and Korolev offer contracts they want the player to complete. Players have the option of dropping solo, in a duo or in trios; and game instances last six hours before refreshing. ''The Cycle: Frontier'' launched with two maps, and has features including crafting, customising load-out and character appearance, as well as a "

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" system.

Development

The initial development plans started shortly after Yager had finished working on ''

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''. ''The Cycle: Frontier'' ended up being revealed at Gamescom 2018, eight months after. The goal was to combine the narrative with social dynamics. It was released into

on the

Epic Games Store The Epic Games Store is a video game digital distribution service and storefront operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as a software client, for Microsoft Windows and macOS, and online storefront. Android and iOS versions of t ...

in August 2019. The Steam release initially set for December 2020 was delayed to some time in early 2021 due to changes in development plans and being hindered by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In June 2023, Yager released a statement that the servers for ''The Cycle: Frontier'' are scheduled to be

on September 27, 2023. Yager stated that continued support for the game was "unfortunately not financially viable", and that the game would not be playable offline or in private servers due to its "dedicated backend system, which doesn't allow keeping the game somewhat available after being shut down".

Reception

''The Cycle: Frontier'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to

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. This can also be reflected in the Steam Store Reviews. ''

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'' lamented its formulaic design, writing, "Without any kind of narrative hook or any kind of subversiveness at all, and little moment to moment reward, a list of unlocks can't possibly compel me to invest that kind of time." It gained popularity when played by Summit1g on Twitch. The game peaked at 40,854 active players in June 2022 which slowly averaged downwards over the course of its lifespan.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cycle (video game), The Video games developed in Germany Unreal Engine 4 games Action games Early access video games Inactive multiplayer online games Windows games Windows-only games Video games set on fictional planets 2022 video games Yager Development games Products and services discontinued in 2023 Extraction shooters