Project U, the upcoming co-op shooter from Ubisoft, will have closed playtests starting on October 14th. A video for testers leaked recently, confirming Ubisoft Annecy’s involvement and the project being in development for years. It also featured some architecture that looked strangely similar to Hyper Scape, the company’s deceased battle royale title.
This made it sound similar to Pathfinder, a rumored PvEvP shooter that used similar art style to Hyper Scape. In a new report on Insider-Gaming, Tom Henderson revealed that Project U is Pathfinder. Whether Pathfinder is the final name or not is unknown, but the gameplay loop sounds about the same. You need to access the centre of the map, fighting off AI enemies that become more challenging.
The difference is that certain areas are locked until you reach a certain level. Leveling up is done by killing enemies, completing missions like defense and capturing locations, and so on. There are four hero roles at present – Attacker, Defender, Medic, and Support – with each having different skills.
Project U is also reportedly running on Godot Engine (which titles like Cruelty Squad utilize). The hub where players can meet is also still present, with facilities like a firing range and mini-games available.
In response to the report, Ubisoft said, “We will soon be running a closed test under NDA for codename ‘Project U,‘ and while some details have been shown publicly, the game is still a work in progress. We will share more information on the game at a later date.“
Playtests are currently PC-only in Western Europe. Stay tuned for more details on Project U in the coming months.