Dauntless, a PC cooperative action game that has players working together to take down giant monsters, is entering its closed beta test at 12 p.m. Pacific today. You can get access to the testing period by buying a Founder’s Pack for the game, which start at $40.
Dauntless takes plenty of inspiration from Monster Hunter, Capcom’s series of beast-slaying role-playing games. However, that franchise hasn’t had a presence on PC (at least until Monster Hunter: World comes out in 2018), giving Dauntless a chance to tap that part of the market.
The final release of Dauntless will be free-to-play at some point in 2017. The Founder’s Packs give you access to the closed beta and some bonus in-game items. These betas, or Early Access, have become a popular way for developers to get people playing (and paying) for their work without having to commit to a final release. It’s a formula that has made modern PC hits like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds huge successes.
“Dauntless is a living game that we’ll be continuing to evolve, grow, and expand through closed beta, open beta, and beyond,” said Jesse Houston, co-founder and executive producer of Phoenix Labs, in a press release sent to GamesBeat.”Today’s closed beta launch marks the beginning of an amazing journey we’ll be taking with the Dauntless community for years to come.”
