With The Cycle, Yager introduces the Competitive Quester, a new genre of PvEvP shooter with a strong focus on emergent social dynamics.

Welcome to Fortuna III. Far as we can tell, this rock was terraformed by aliens a long time ago. The Federation tried colonizing it, but the Cycle put an end to that. We’re talking world-spanning storms that kill anything dumb enough to set foot planetside and these storms are happening more often than not.

Your home is a spinning collection of tin cans known as Prospect Station. The main thing going for it is that it's not the surface. It ain’t pretty, but no one said life on the frontier was going to be easy.

You put up with this junk for one reason: to get rich. The planet’s full of exotic materials that the major galactic factions pay serious credits for. When the Cycle breaks, that’s your window to get down there and get to work. Just watch out for the competition – the long arm of the law doesn’t reach out this far.

Cash in your contracts and those same factions will set you up with some shiny gear. They’ve got big guns, little guns, medium guns, and a collection of gadgetry that’d make your jaw drop. Getting the job done is whole lot easier when you’ve got a jetpack and a laser cannon at your side.

The new Ranked Mode for The Cycle dials player competition up to a whole new level! 

Ranked Mode is a more deterministic, more competitive way of experiencing The Cycle, where motivations outside of the match win condition are removed or at least kept to a minimum – no random drops, no story missions, it’s just about who comes out on top. This adds a new edge to the game and leads to a very different game experience.

The feature status as of today represents the most recent design version – the shape it will eventually take depends on player feedback and gameplay stats. This doesn’t mean the feature is glitchy or incomplete, but subject to regular balancing tweaks in order to continually improve player experience. 

At first, ranked matches are unlocked for the Squad mode only. One week later the new Ranked Mode is available exclusively for all Duo Mode players. Single player matches remain unranked for the moment. Which game modes are ranked in the future depends on the player feedback. 

How it works: 

All players start with the same Prospector rank when they join a ranked match for the first time. To increase this rank, they have to finish the match in the best spot they can. Players are, currently, not matched by their rank. How the matchmaking will work in the future depends on fan feedback.

After each successful round, all competitors receive points that eventually increase their rank. Once a player reaches the last level, they become a Prestige Prospector and unlock exclusive banners that mark them out as Prestige player. This rank can be increased infinitely.

With this update, YAGER also releases the first iteration of the Space Station. There players can move around in a 3D lobby, meet and interact with other players. This is the first step to bring the Space Station to life, which will grow into a central player hub in the future with many social features, crafting spaces, shops and much more.

The Cycle is free to play in early access for Windows PC via the Epic Games Store. Players can also grab the Fortuna Pass, a special season pass available in both free and premium tiers and featuring over 150 exclusive unlockable rewards. For more information, visit the official website.

Key Features

• A new Frontier: Explore the world of Fortuna III - a hostile, beautiful new world, full of fortune, alien life, and other players looking to take its riches.
• Storm: The cycle leaves only a narrow window of opportunity - stay too long, and you will be trapped on the planet.
• Pacting: Players can meet on the surface of Fortuna III and join uneasy alliances with one another as they complete contracts
• Black Market: Players have a wide arsenal of weapons and gear available to them, all with different playstyles, that can be purchased during a match
• Crafting: Players can spend their precious credits on creating new gear to take into the next match
• Quests: Shooting may give you an edge - but the best prospectors are those who can take on dangerous jobs for factions during a match
• Customization: A wide selection of gear that players progress through, tailoring their character to their individual playstyle, with more options regularly added

The Cycle is in development for PC (consoles at a later date).