Crytek published their latest developer update video on YouTube yesterday and pinned a definitive deadline on the end of service for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Hunt: Showdown that was first announced last September. August 15th, 2024 is the date that the game will launch natively on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms, forcing existing console players to upgrade their hardware in order to keep playing.
What isn’t entirely clear yet and will hopefully be answered in the promised weekly updates is if those existing players will have to buy the game again. Crytek has already stated that “player accounts and entitlements […] and all related DLCs carry up to the new version at no additional cost”. But it sure reads like this will be a standalone and full-price release given that they’re breaking compatibility with the older versions. The video makes no mention of an upgrade path, only that players will need to make the “hardware transition” in order to play the game after August 15th.
Maybe I missed the context in the video or misinterpreted their meaning. It’s unfortunate that there isn’t an FAQ page yet about the changes and we can only hope that things are clarified soon. For what it’s worth, the game is on sale on PlayStation 4 through June 6th for $14 but regular price on Steam and Xbox One at $40.
We’ve added the date to the Watch List calendar for now and will update as more details are provided. Thanks to m1n3c7afty for pointing out the news on this one.