Announced at the PC Gamer Weekender a couple of days ago, Mavericks: Proving Grounds is a massively ambitious 1000-player MMO that will also find the time to cram in a 400-player Battle Royale mode, which will launch first. There's no real footage yet, but in the first of two highlight videos from the PCG Weekender, Automaton Games' James Thompson offers a glimpse of the enormous 16km map we'll be able to explore, while going into detail on some of the technical wizardry that's making it all possible.

Automaton basically sees this as the "next generation" of MMO, something it's achieved via a network of servers, allowing for millions of entities inside a single game. Other similar titles, Thompson argues, compromise the depth of the simulation for the sake of scale, but he says that won't be the case with Mavericks.

The other element Thompson wishes to stress is Mavericks' approach to level design. Rather than just procedurally generating a map and being done with it, he says that the team is taking the time to craft a "holistic" world that will make for better tactical options. He goes on to explain how Mavericks uses advanced photogrammetry to present a realistic environment that will apparently look exceptional at any time of day, and during any weather condition, while at the same time allowing for a high level of destructibility.

We'll surely see more of the game before its closed beta this Summer, but until then, you can learn more about Mavericks from our recent announcement post.