Bandai Namco's Gundam Evolution, a free-to-play hero-shooter featuring various Gundams and Mobile Suits spanning the popular franchise's long history, will arrive on PC September 21. The console version of Gundam Evolution will arrive two months later on November 30.
Though no specific reason has been given for the console version's late arrival, Bandai Namco has released more details about Gundam Evolution's first season in a new developer video. Players can expect seasons to last around two months, with each season introducing new playable units. New Mobile Suits can be unlocked with an in-game currency earned through playing or with a premium currency purchased with real money.
New Mobile Suits being added as part of Season 1 are the Unicorn Gundam, Zaku II (Melee Loadout), and the Mahiroo. The Unicorn comes equipped with a Beam Gatling Gun and has the ability to buff teammates, making it excel at teamplay. The melee variant of the Zaku II is all about getting up close and personal with its powerful Heat Axe, while the Mahiroo's strong vertical mobility and ability to ricochet it's attacks off surfaces makes it a difficult target to pin down.
There will be 10 playable maps at launch, and as one might expect from a free-to-play shooter, there will be both a free and paid battle pass players can progress to unlock new unit skins and profile items. According to the developers, there will be more than 500 items available to unlock at launch.
Gundam Evolution is heavily inspired by Overwatch, which makes it all the more interesting that Bandai Namco's shooter is set to arrive a little under two weeks before the release of Overwatch 2 on October 4. Like Gundam Evolution, Overwatch 2 will be free-to-play and include a battle pass. However, Overwatch 2's PC and console versions will both be arriving on the same day, and will sport cross-play and cross-progression, something that Gundam Evolution doesn't support.
Gundam Evolution will be playable on PC via Steam and on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 consoles.
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