Wow. It's been one year since we launched Hunt on Steam Early Access! We've come a long way this past year, and we couldn't have done it without you, the Hunt Community! We're so grateful for all of your feedback, all of time you've spent testing the game with us on the Test Server, all the fanworks, and all the laughs we've had on social media. So crack the champagne/open the party snacks, it's time to celebrate, with a look back at what we've done in the past year.

Before we dive into that: to celebrate, we're kicking off a 30% discount on Steam, running from now until March 4th at 10 am PT/ 1pm ET/ 7pm CEST. Get a copy foryourself and/or your friends on Steam right now.

In the past year, we've released 16 updates and patches.

Each update was packed, but some of the biggest milestones among them were the new map, two new times of day, additional AI, a quick play game mode, challenges, and over a dozen weapons to the game throughout the year. You can see some of the stats from the past year in our anniversary.

As you know, performance improvements have been an important part of the Early Access process, and many of the updates have focused on increasing the Hunt experience for players with all kinds of hardware specifications. Two performance patches were released right out of the gate, and then our first big updates added more content: five new scoped weapons, two tactical bombs, 11 Hunter outfits, 12 new traits, and fall damage. Updates have kept up a steady pace ever since.

“I remember launch day like it was yesterday," said Hunt Producer Fatih Özbayram. “The entire team got together in the lounge at the Frankfurt office, so we could all be there when Hunt went live, and celebrate how much we'd achieved. You could feel the excitement in that room. It was a huge milestone for the team."

Afterwards, Update 2.0 kept the ball rolling with the addition of the Dark Sight Boost, looting, bear traps, the hive bomb, a flare pistol, and the Beastface and Tomahawk traits. These were soon followed by fog, crossbows, throwing knives, weapons with silencers, a combat axe, the Bolt Thrower and Bolt Seer traits, a reporting system, mission accolades, and more equipment. Next, the Water Devil, the ducks, water-based sound traps, liquid fire bombs, waxed dynamite, and rank and prestige badges were added as well. And that only brings us up to Update 2.3.

Update 2.4 was, again, focused on performance, while 2.5 brought trainee mode, new server regions, and weapon-balancing changes to the mix. With Update 3.0, Hunt celebrated the addition of its second map, Lawson Delta, as well as the addition of a skill-based matchmaking system, movement inertia system, corpse looting, anti-teaming mechanisms, and Nvidia Highlights.

Update 4.0 was another big one, with the addition of an all-new game mode—Quick Play—for those who enjoy playing solo or wanted a shorter match time. Alongside the new mode, Hunt also got daily and weekly in-game challenges, as well as gunplay and meta changes in 4.0. This was followed by 4.1., which added night-time lighting on Lawson Delta and holiday content.

With the release of each update, we have carefully tracked community feedback, taking your comments to heart, and modifying the development roadmap to reflect what you had to say about how to improve the game and make it an even more fun experience. The result combines the community vision with the dev team's vision, and has made Hunt what it is today.

Hunt's latest update, Update 4.2., focused exclusively on performance, and very soon you'll be able to try out Update 5.0 on the Test Server. One of 5.0's big highlights is a new AI character called the Immolator, which you've probably already readabout on the blog. Until it hits the Test Server, you can get a preview of this fast and persistent AI in a new teaser video.

“It has been a busy year, and I'm proud of what the team has been able to accomplish with Hunt in that time," said Crytek CEO Avni Yerli. “Everyone has worked really hard to make Hunt what it is today. Developing the game alongside such an engaged community has been a truly rewarding experience, and Hunt's second year is going to be even more exciting."

THANK YOU HUNT COMMUNITY. Let's celebrate with a few rounds in the Bayou, shall we?