Developer Phoenix Labs has announced the official launch date for its monster-slaying MMORPG Dauntless. Starting on Tuesday, May 21, interested fans can play the game’s full launch version on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The game’s full launch also coincides with the launch of a new content season called Hidden Blades.
Dauntless May 21 Launch Date
Phoenix Labs confirmed the May 21 launch date via a brief post on the Dauntless website. Dauntless has technically been in a F2P early access state for the past several months, but that will soon change. With the full launch, the PC version of Dauntless will transition over to the Epic Store as an exclusive title.
Rather than the current standalone client, current PC players will instead launch Dauntless through the Epic Store desktop launcher. By linking their Dauntless and Epic accounts, players can retain their game progress. If you’d rather play on consoles, the Xbox One and PS4 versions launch on May 21 as well. Thanks to Epic’s cross-platform account syncing, Dauntless progress is transferrable from PC to consoles and vice-versa.
Phoenix Labs’ partnership with Epic makes sense considering Dauntless utilizes a very Fortnite-esque monetization model. The game is F2P, but players can also purchase microtransactions as well as seasonal battle passes. The newest season, Hidden Blades, kicks off on the same day as the game’s full launch. Each season allows players to complete challenges, progress through tiers, and earn exclusive rewards all season long.
The actual gameplay involves linking up with other players to fight massive behemoths ala Monster Hunter. Players equip and utilize different weapons and armor sets depending on the behemoths they’re hunting. Then, the materials gained from slaying behemoths are crafted into better weapons and armor to deal with tougher behemoths.
In the future, Phoenix Labs plans on porting Dauntless over to mobile platforms and even the Nintendo Switch. No timetable has been set for those platform ports as of this writing though. Dauntless received plenty of updates during its early access/open beta phases. It’s not quite as polished as Capcom’s Monster Hunter World, but it’s still worth checking out.