Does Project A have a release date and can I sign up for a beta?
Sign us up.
Project A is due to release soon. It’s an upcoming competitive shooter by Riot Games that’s a bit CS:GO with hero abilities thrown in. This Project A release date and beta sign up guide will tell you all you need to know about its imminent launch.
Riot’s League of Legends 10th Anniversary Celebration didn’t just play host to LoL reveals, it also showcased a host of future projects the company is working on.
Easily one of the most exciting reveals was “Project A” a competitive hero shooter, which looks highly reminiscent of Counter Strike, with a splash of Overwatch in there too. It’s being penned as a “tactical FPS” by the bods at Riot, which aims to build on the genre rather than just join it.
When does it launch? Can I play early? What even is Project A? Well, we’ll answer all of these questions below and keep this page updated as more information comes our way.
– UPDATE! – VALORANT CLOSED BETA ANNOUNCED
Go to our Valorant Closed Beta: How to sign up and get a key page for all the info you need.
As soon as more info drops on the game we’ll be producing plenty of content. Keep an eye on the site for all the latest!
Does Project A have a release date?
Currently, Riot hasn’t announced a release date for Project A. However, head on over to the game’s landing page and it says “Follow us on Twitter to be the first to hear new information in 2020”. It’s clear then, that it will be released sometime in 2020.
It can’t be too far away, though. This month, games press, influencers, and those in the competitive FPS community were given the opportunity to playtest the game. While in-depth info from this event is arriving at a later date (we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the site), we’ve rounded up some initial thoughts from the event at the bottom of this page. Above all, it suggests Riot Games is nearly ready for a Project A beta of some kind!
Expect some big articles from all the playtesters and plenty of exciting new information soon. When this info does drop, we expect Riot to make additional announcements as well. Again, keep an eye on our site for all the latest coverage.
Can I sign up for a beta?
There is currently no way to sign up to play in a beta for the game. It’s still a little while off yet, so expect a closed beta within the next couple of months and stay tuned for updates when it arrives.
What is Project A?
Project A is a competitive, character-based first person shooter for PC. Going purely on the gameplay we’ve seen so far, it’s like Counter Strike and Overwatch’s lovechild.
There’s a focus on “precise gunplay” and it’s set on a “near future earth”. It’s home to a hero roster, all with unique abilities. So far, we’ve seen a hero who can summon walls, which presumably, block projectiles. We’ve also seen a character who can dash and summon lethal knives to fling at her enemies.
We are making Project A because we are passionate about tactical shooters. We believe there is so much to build on in the genre as well as several problems to fix.https://t.co/hwq6CqHLWy
nicolo (@niiicolo) October 16, 2019
Time to kill is very low, meaning accuracy, map knowledge and teamplay will be key to victory. Unlike Overwatch’s game-changing abilities, Riot Games CEO Nicolo stresses that they’ll only “augment” gameplay, and players will still need to practice their aim as “shooting matters”.
HenryG’s playstest thoughts (NEW)
CS:GO commentator, former pro player and one of the first to playtest CS:GO back in the day, HenryG has weighted in with his thoughts on Project A.
While he can’t go into too many specifics, he does drop some new tidbits of info which make the game sound all the more tantalising.
Hello! Strap yourself in. I had the chance to spend a day playing #ProjectA at Riot EU. Today, Im allowed to share some of my initial thoughts and impressions. Please bear with me, I cant go into too much detail about the specifics of a lot of the gameplay until a later date.
HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) February 11, 2020
First off, he confirms that the classes and their unique abilities “should be seen as tactical utility instead of potentially overpowered spell/ultimate combinations”. Also players won’t have innate, infinitely usable abilities with cooldowns. Instead, they must be bought at the start of each round alongside your weaponry and gear.
HenryG also makes them sound fun and satisfying to use, having described a combo featuring “movement mechanics abilities that isolates your opponent to buy space” before “pulling the trigger on the killing blow”.
In a similar vein to CS:GO there’s an economy to play around with. You can partially invest in a round to save yourself some cash, or riskily spend a fortune in the hopes of shutting down your opponent’s economy for a fair few rounds.
He rounds off his summation with his higlight of the playtest, which is the map design – FPS players rejoice, it sounds great. “They have been beautifully created and follow Counter-strikesque familiar lanes and choke points.” Wonderful news, and it shows Riot are investing in quality over aesthetic appeal which bodes very well indeed.
One final point – he believes Project A is the best game he’s played since CS:GO!
Rambo Kim’s playtest thoughts
Ron Rambo Kim has posted a video detailing his thoughts on his time playtesting Project A. He’s a former FPS (CS:GO) pro-player, who used to play on the same team as one of the game designers Volcano, who incidentally, is one of the co-creators of legendary CS:GO map Cache.
While Kim can’t share much as he’s under NDA, he’s able to give his general thoughts on the game – and it’s great news for FPS fans.
He makes it clear he’s highly critical of FPS games, but he believes Project A is really fun, rewarding and very well paced. Guns feel precise, hitboxes are clean and general movement is crisp.
Riot’s emphasis on countering “peeker’s advantage” also seems to have paid off. You feel rewarded for getting to a position faster than the opposition, and players can’t “jiggle peek” to obtain information for free.
Heroes and their abilities aren’t overpowering or overwhelming, and there’s far more emphasis on shooting and movement above all else.
All in all, great news. We’ll keep this page updated with more info as it arrives – stay tuned!