Spectre Divide is a new tactical shooter from ex-Respawn, Bungie and Riot devs with a unique multiplicity twist

After years of quietly working on the next big thing, Mountaintop Studios, a team made up of game development veterans from Respawn, Riot Games, Bungie and other AAA studios, has officially unveiled its first project to the world.

Spectre Divide is the team’s attempt to shake up the competitive, tactical shooter genre. The free-to-play 3v3 game may borrow elements from Valorant and Counter-Strike, but it’s an altogether unique take on the action so many of us are familiar with.

Spectre Divide’s main mechanic is Duality, which is the ability for every player to be in control of two bodies at once. You can switch between them at any time, opening up a whole range of tactical and utility options for you to experiment with.

It also acts as something of a second chance mechanic, giving each player two lives to play with in every match. You may plant one body (Spectre) to cover your own back or a risky cross, or simply use it to watch two locations at once.

Duality is especially useful given Spectre Divide’s core attack/defend bomb defusal game mode, seeing as you can be at both bomb sites at once. In shooter terms, Spectre Divide’s mechanics are built on familiar weapon spray patterns, except you’re also encouraged to aim down your weapons’ sights and shoot on the move.

In the game’s fictional Santai competition, you don’t pick from pre-made heroes; you get to create your own. Outside of looks, there’s a range of abilities for you to choose from that complement whatever playstyle you want to have. There are no ultimate abilities here, but the pre-round buy phase is certainly going to be familiar to players of Valorant and Counter-Strike.

Spectre Divide is designed to be a competitive shooter, which is clear from streamer Michael 'Shroud' Grzesiek's involvement. There’s a big focus on ranked played, with weekly competitions among your friends - but you can also queue up solo or create a custom game.

Though the game is free-to-play, you won’t find any lootboxes here. You’ll be able to purchase characters and weapon skins directly. Sponsors, essentially the game’s versions of factions/manufacturers can also be bought, or you can unlock them by playing the game.

Spectre Divide does not yet have a release date, but it’s set to launch this year on PC. Now that it’s been officially announced, you can sign up for future beta tests if you’re interested in experiencing its wild take on the genre yourself.