The Cycle

'The Cycle is a Free-to-play first-person shooter video game developed by Yager Development. Early access of the game was released in 2019, and is currently available on the Epic Games Store for Microsoft Windows. Yager is open to releasing The Cycle on other platforms, including Steam, in the future.

Gameplay
The Cycle is a first-person shooter. Set in a universe where interstellar travel is possible. A group of humans live on a space station called the Prospect Station. Players take on the role of prospectors, mercenaries tasked with the job of completing contracts on a dangerous planet called Fortuna III. Players have to complete these contracts to earn points and the players with the most points wins if they escape. Players get 20 minutes to complete contracts and fight with 19 other players within 1 match. Three major factions, the Independent Civilian Advisory (ICA), Osiris, and Korolev, offer contracts they want the player to complete. These reward the player with faction reputation. These contracts range from "Go from point A to Point B" to "King of the hill" gameplay and there are guaranteed four contracts each match with additional events during the match. Within the environment, there are monsters and other hostile creatures that will try to kill the player as well as rival players. Each match is set to have a total of 20 players in either solo, duos, or squads, these team compositions cannot be mixed.

Other features of The Cycle include crafting and creating a loadout of guns and gear, changing the appearance of the player character with clothing and skins for guns, and a "battle pass" system. The Cycle is not a Battle Royale, as the PvP format is not strictly enforced: Prospectors can choose to work together or fight one another as they please. However, they must also contend with the hostile fauna of Fortuna III.

Development
The initial development plans started shortly after Yager had finished working on Dreadnought. The Cycle ended up being revealed at GamesCom 2018, eight months afterwards. The goal was to combine the narrative with social dynamics. It was released as an Early Access on the Epic Games Store on August 19, 2019.