A group of modders best known for the impressive Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality are at work on a new first-person shooter for PC that pits two teams of 50 players against one another.
Squad, as it’s called, was recently listed on Steam Greenlight in the hopes of being available through Steam upon release. According to an update post by the developers, more than 21,000 people have already voted in favor of that happening.
And while the game is still roughly a year away from launch–its estimated release window is “early 2016”–it’s easy to see why people are enthusiastic about it. Squad is, as the name suggests, a squad-oriented shooter with wide-open maps that “will come directly or be heavily inspired from real-world locations through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) satellite data, where authenticity and total tactical freedom to roam will always be part of the game.”
Servers will support up to 100 players, allowing for 50v50 matches between players who choose between Battlefield-esque roles of snipers, machine gunners, medics, helicopter pilots, and more.
Squad is being developed by a group that, at least officially, have no connection with the acclaimed Project Reality mod for Battlefield 2. An FAQ on Squad’s website notes, however, that “nearly all of our developers are retired members of the core Project Reality: BF2 development team, and we are seeking to make Squad the spiritual successor to PR in everything but name.”
There’s no way to buy an early version of Squad just yet, though a crowdfunding campaign is expected to begin sometime in “the next few months.” Those who buy in early will get to play an alpha version, though it’s unclear how much of the game will be available at that point.