The recently announced post-apocalyptic shooter Rage 2 will release nearly eight years after the original game, and with that time came some modern design choices inspired by contemporary games. One of the most controversial, however — the dreaded loot box — will not be found in Rage 2.
Speaking to German publication GameStar, Id Software studio director and original Rage creative director Tim Willits said that there will be no loot boxes in the game, adding that “you buy the game and then you play it.”
This falls in line with the business model publisher Bethesda has been championing lately. Games like The Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Prey, and Dishonored 2 all feature complete single-player experiences for $60, often with a strong focus on linear storytelling rather than the open-world exploration seen in other publishers’ games.
Despite this, Rage 2 will still feature some live-service elements, with Willits saying there will be extra “fun stuff” for those looking to play the game past its story’s completion.
Willits also confirmed in in the interview that Avalanche Studios is leading development of Rage 2, with Id Software contributing a smaller team to the project. However, he described it as a “collaborative project” and Id won’t simply be supervising Avalanche as it develops the game.
Avalanche certainly knows its way around the apocalypse, with the studio developing the 2015 Mad Max game, which shares some aesthetic similarities with Rage 2. The studio is also the creator of the Just Cause franchise, which prides itself on sandbox-style mayhem and an enormous open world. Neither Mad Max nor Just Cause 3 were particularly well-received, but with Id Sofware’s first-person shooting expertise, there’s a chance for Rage 2 to stand out from the crowd.
In the first gameplay trailer for Rage 2, we got to see its blending of traditional shooting with “Nanotrite” powers, which allow protagonist Walker to destroy enemies with his bare hands. The game also brings back vehicular action, and includes more diverse environments than we saw in the first Rage.
Rage 2 will be available in spring 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. More gameplay will be shown during Bethesda’s E3 showcase in June.
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