Crucible (video game) explained

Crucible
Developer:Relentless Studios
Engine:Amazon Lumberyard
Publisher:Amazon Game Studios
Director:Colin Johanson, Jason Stansell, James Ackley, DJ Stiner, Eric Flannum, Brady Houck[1]
Producer:Tre Fitzgerald, Jessica Antico Brasz, Andy Abramovici
Genre:Third-person shooter
Modes:Multiplayer
Platforms:Microsoft Windows
Release:May 20, 2020

Crucible was a free-to-play multiplayer third-person shooter developed and published by Relentless Studios, a subsidiary of Amazon Game Studios.[2] It is Amazon's first major original title published by their gaming division, which had previously focused on tablet games. It became available for download on May 20, 2020, for Windows, after having been in development since 2014. The game returned to a closed beta status on June 30, 2020.[3] On October 9, 2020, Relentless Studios announced that development would be discontinued within one month.

Gameplay

Crucible was a hero shooter game.[4] Different playable characters, referred to as "hunters", impacted which abilities players had. Matches were team-based player versus player competitions, and the Alpha Hunters, Harvester Command, and Heart of Hives game modes all included player versus environment elements as well. Unlike other hero shooter games, there were no dedicated healer or tank characters, requiring all players to search for healing items during matches.

Release

Because of COVID-19 the entire development team was working remotely at the time of the game's launch.[5] At launch, the game was in "pre-season" to allow developers to finetune the gaming experience.[5]

Reception

Crucible received mixed reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Cancellation

On October 9, 2020, Relentless Studios announced the cancellation of Crucible, citing the inability to see a sustained future as the reason for cancellation.[6] The studio offered full refunds for any purchases made and was subsequently shifted to aid development of Amazon's other upcoming title, New World. Matchmaking would be discontinued in late October, and custom game servers would be shut down on November 9 at noon PST.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Crucible Credits . Crucible . Amazon Game Studios . June 2, 2020 . October 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201026013011/https://www.playcrucible.com/en-us/about/credits . live .
  2. Web site: Statt . Nick . Amazon's Crucible is a free-to-play multiplayer game launching May 20th . The Verge . May 5, 2020 . Vox Media . May 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200527065510/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/5/21246923/amazon-crucible-relentless-studio-free-to-play-launch-date-may-20 . May 27, 2020 . live .
  3. Web site: Crucible is going back to the drawing board with a closed beta . . June 30, 2020 . July 18, 2020 . May 12, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210512134445/https://www.polygon.com/windows/2020/6/30/21308665/crucible-closed-beta-release-amazon . live .
  4. Web site: Pocket-lint. 2020-05-20. What is Crucible? Amazon's free-to-play hero shooter explored. 2020-11-25. Pocket-lint. en-gb. December 16, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201216105353/https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/amazon/152258-what-is-crucible-amazons-free-to-play-hero-shooter-explored. live.
  5. Web site: Johanson . Colin . Welcome to Crucible . Crucible . Amazon Game Studios . May 27, 2020 . June 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200610001231/https://www.playcrucible.com/en-us/news/articles/welcome-to-crucible . live .
  6. Web site: 2020-10-09. Final Crucible Developer Update. 2020-10-10. Crucible. en-us. October 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201010002227/https://www.playcrucible.com/en-us/news/articles/final-crucible-developer-update. dead.
  7. Web site: Amazon is Officially Canceling 'Crucible' This November .