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Free-to-play shooter The First Descendant launches this summer

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This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.
The First Descendant│Official Launch Date Reveal│Summer Game Fest 2024

The long-awaited The First Descendant from Nexon Games is finally going live. The co-op looter shooter will soon be available on July 2, it was revealed at Summer Game Fest 2024.

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The game, which will pit players against an alien invasion while imbuing those characters with superpowers, will be free to play across PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A new trailer at Summer Game Fest revealed its release date alongside a fresh look at its Unreal Engine 5 visuals.

Nexon previously announced during The Game Awards 2023 that The First Descendant would be launching this summer, although it didn’t have a more specific release window. It did confirm it was on track for the summer though in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in May. The studio has held a number of technical tests, along with a crossplay open beta in 2023. Crossplay, along with cross-saves, will be available at launch.

In case you haven’t been following along over the past few years, in The Final Descendant, players will take on the role of a Descendant, a person with powers who has to protect Earth against aliens called the Vulgus. Game producer Lee Beom-jun told Digital Trends in a 2022 interview that the game will reveal the story as players go through missions and get access to updates, so offering a closer blend of narrative and the gameplay of more casual free-to-play shooters.

“We have a main story in the game, and the content is delivered through quests and in-game cinematic scenes. We will continue to add these stories with each major update,” Beom-jun said. “In addition to the main story, several other stories and story settings will be shown through various methods in the game. Discovering these hidden side stories and background lore will be exciting and fun.”

Carli Velocci
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
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