Released in February of this year, Evolve drew generally good review scores and a decent amount of players at launch, but as with plenty of other multiplayer-focused games, its numbers have been steadily declining in the months since.
In order to bolster the game’s player base, developer Turtle Rock Studios has announced that gamers will get a chance to see what the game’s asymmetrical multiplayer has to offer. This weekend, both the PC and Xbox One versions of Evolve will be free to play.
Specifically, the base version of Evolve will be free to play – none of the DLC will be available. This includes 18 hunters across four classes, five game modes, and 19 maps. The free weekend also includes the recently added Hunt 2.0, which improves matchmaking, leaderboards, and the user interface in general.
For those who already own a version of the game, Turtle Rock has something in store for you as well, assuming you don’t already own all the DLC. All of Evolve’s DLC characters will be playable for anyone who owns the game this weekend.
For players who are trying Evolve for the first time, should they decide to purchase the game, they’ll retain all the progress made over the free weekend so they won’t have to start over from scratch. This doesn’t apply to the DLC unlocks, however.
Turtle Rock also announced the new Meteor Goliath, a variation on the Goliath monster, which will be added to the game free for all players on September 3. This monster has a new look, new audio, and new gameplay, with “increased range to spread residual fire damage across the entire Hunter team, while showcasing a fiery twist on Goliath’s abilities.”
Beginning September 4 at 12:01 a.m. PDT, all Evolve players will see the Hunting Season 1 and the playable Behemoth Monster unlocked for 24 hours, while the playable characters from Evolve Hunting Season 2 will be available for 24 hours starting September 5 as 12:01 a.m. PDT.
The start of the free weekend isn’t explicitly stated, but it seems likely that it would be the same time that the DLC unlocks begin. For an overview of the game and the free weekend, see the announcement on Turtle Rock’s website.
