When I met with the Wargaming team at GDC to go hands-on with its upcoming early access mech shooter, Steel Hunters, I had one big question on my mind. This third-person mech game from the World of Tanks creator blends PvPvE with extraction and hero shooter flavors that bear a striking resemblance to another, extremely popular mech game. After many years of development and a huge investment, I had to ask: are they concerned that Mecha Break has already beaten them to the punch?
Creative director Sergey Titarenko tells me he isn’t. In fact, doesn’t even consider it to be Steel Hunters’ direct competition. This sounded absurd to me at first. We’re talking about two free-to-play third-person extraction/hero shooter mech games launching in 2025, of course they’re vying for the same audience. But once I got my hands on the game I realized how profoundly different these two games are. They might be distant cousins in the way that Fortnite and Valorant share a little DNA, but Steel Hunters is going for something very unique, and I can’t wait to play more of it.
Steel Hunters Isn’t Like Other Mech Girls Games
The first thing you’ll notice about Steel Hunters is its striking aesthetic. Unlike the more anime-inspired Mecha Break, Steel Hunters’ mechs are packed with both personality and individuality. No two hunters are even remotely the same, which is especially apparent when it comes to the non-humanoid mechs like the wolfy Fenris or the bear-like Ursus. Silhouettes that are easy to instantly recognize are crucial in hero shooters, and Wargaming has found an art style that stands out.
If you’re one of the dozen Zoids fans still out there, Steel Hunters definitely has your number.
Gameplay is where Steel Hunters really differentiates itself. While Mecha Break sports highly mobile and extremely twitchy combat, Steel Hunters adopts a more tactical approach. Matches are played on a big battle royale-sized map with ten teams of two competing to complete objectives and safely extract in a final king-of-the-hill style standoff.
While scouring the map for ammo, XP, and objectives, you can choose to ignore or engage opposing duos whenever you encounter them. Winning the fight will net you lots of bonus resources, but losing will kick you straight back to the lobby – assuming your teammate can’t make a quick escape and resurrect you.
Like most hero shooters, each mech has its own unique weapon and abilities. The most basic soldier character, Razorside, is equipped with an auto rifle, grenades, and the ability to instantly restore part of his shield. Other characters aren’t much more complicated, but they all have their own specialized utility.
Some are healers, some have zone denial, some have stealth. It’s all familiar hero shooter stuff, but limiting comps to just teams of two adds an interesting layer of strategy to skirmishes. Timing and positioning matter a lot when you only have one teammate to watch your back, and playing to the strengths of your characters – and how those strengths can complement each other – is key.
A Free-To-Play Game That Won’t Try To Shake You Down
Perhaps Steel Hunters’ biggest difference from Mecha Break is that Wargaming has decided not to implement any microtransactions throughout the early access period. Publishing director Dan Tanaescescu explained to me that Wargaming wants to work closely with players to fine-tune Steel Hunters and determine the best direction for the future of the game, and the studio believe it wouldn’t be right to front-load the game with monetization when it’s still in a stage where things could change a lot. There will be a free battle pass and progression systems for each hunter, but there won’t be anything to buy, at least not until the game leaves early access.
I did notice a worrying amount of different currencies in the game, but at least for now they can all be earned by just playing the game.
That’s a surprising direction for an online game to take these days, free-to-play or otherwise, and though World of Tanks has a pretty abysmal reputation when it comes to monetization, I’m still hopeful Steel Hunters will keep things more reasonable. In any event, it’s not something you’ll have to worry about when early access starts on April 2.
Even if your mech itch has already been scratched by Mecha Break, I encourage you to give Steel Hunters a try. You won’t get as much butt-jiggle physics, but you will get a pretty compelling multiplayer shooter with cool characters and surprisingly intimate co-op gameplay – completely for free.
Steel Hunters
- Developer(s)
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Wargaming Group Limited
- Publisher(s)
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Wargaming Group Limited