Prey developer reveals its upcoming crafting-focused shooter Minimum

Human Head Studios is finally about to release its next game, but it looks like it only did the bare Minimum.

The developer, which is best known for the 2006 first-person shooter Prey, revealed its new 5-on-5 team shooter for the PC today called Minimum. The game has players controlling simple-looking block characters in a world made up of basic shapes, hence the name. But the minimal geometry and basic character designs are part of a world with high-quality particle effects and explosions. The actual matches will have players scouring maps to collect resources that they can use to build bigger weapons. That is all happening while an opposing team of five players is looking for the same resources. This creates strategic scenarios where teams must work together to fight off the other team to ensure optimal positioning.

This is Human Head’s first release since Prey, although the company helped port Batman: Arkham Origins to the Wii U. For Minimum, the studio is working with publisher Atari, and the two companies are planning to launch it on Steam’s Early Access portal in the next few months.

Check out Minimum in action:

http://youtu.be/PzKGmIf7JaE

“Minimum [offers] unique third-person-combat gameplay combined with depth of blueprint crafting that will allow players to compete against each other for hours on end using a multitude of weapons,” Atari chief executive officer Fred Chesnais said.

Minimum originally started at TimeGate Studios, but that company declared for bankruptcy in May. Atari decided to step in and save Minimum and brought in Human Head to complete the project.

While Human Head is finishing TimeGate’s creation, rumors suggest that another studio has taken over one of Human Head’s project. A report from last May claim that Prey 2 publisher Bethesda moved development of the anticipated sci-fi game from Human Head to Dishonored creator Arkane. Bethesda denied that but further unconfirmed leaks suggest that Arkane really is working on Prey 2.

Human Head’s website still lists it as the developer on Prey 2. We’ve reached out to the studio to ask about the state of the sequel.

Minimum, meanwhile, was originally positioned as a free-to-play game. Human Head looks like it is borrowing ideas from others in that category. Like League of Legends, Minimum has teams farming computer-controlled creeps to level-up characters during matches. Like in Team Fortress 2, players have the option to outfit their character with cosmetic upgrades. Despite those elements, Atari confirmed that Minimum is not free-to-play, but it did not specify a price.

Human Head is planning a beta for Minimum for those who want to try it out as soon as possible. You just need to head to PlayMinimum.com and sign up for a chance to get access.

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