Mavericks: Proving Grounds is a 1000-player survival game with a 400-player battle royale mode
How do you distinguish your battle royale game mode in what has become the new Next Big Thing in games? Take the player count up from 100 to 400.
That's the plan with new multiplayer survival shooter Mavericks: Proving Grounds from developer Automaton.
Mavericks: Proving Ground is a 1000-player survival game from Automaton, built using Improbable's SpatialOS technology which will allow it to build a 12km game map.
The first playable battle royale mode is due this spring and intends to support 400 players, with the game expanding to 1000 players when it's released in 2019. If that all sounds ambitious, Automaton just received $10 million to build the project.
The first teaser above doesn't give a lot away, apart from the distant sound of gunfire, but it's certainly got our hearts pumping a little faster.
The success of PUBG and Fortnite has proven battle royale modes are a hit with players, and prompted a number of developers to reveal their in-progress projects. Egress is a battle royale game with Souls-like combat, while Fear The Wolves is battle royale from former STALKER developers.
Even established studios such as Rockstar are hoping to get in on the action, with rumours that Red Dead Redemption 2 will feature a battle royale mode too.
Correction: This article orginally suggested Dean Hall was involved with Mavericks. He is not.