Competitive PSVR 2 Shooter ‘Firewall Ultra’ Reveals Co-op PvE Mode, Live Service Ambitions

Firewall Ultrathe next-gen sequel to the popular PSVR-exclusive shooter, launches next week and with it a co-op PvE mode that supports up to four players.

Due to launch next week on August 24th on PSVR 2, Firewall Ultra is just around the corner. Today, developer First Contact Entertainment revealed that the game will go beyond its pure PvP roots with a co-op PvE mode. While it doesn’t sound like a full-featured campaign, the studio claims it planned the mode from the start.

Called Exfil (short for Exfiltration), the new mode will see up to four players battle bots across the game’s array of maps as they seek to activate targets and then return to an evacuation zone for extraction.

When you first load into a mission in Exfil, you hack into one of two available access points to reveal the laptop’s location and then make your plan of attack. Will you try to split up to cover more ground as a team, or will you stick together to cover each other’s backs? Do you plan to sneak through corridors and try to remain undetected for as long as possible, or will you roll up your arms to wage war? The choice is yours as each level in Exfil is like a miniature playground with a wide variety of options and possible scenarios.

First Contact says it has “designed each map to accommodate both PvE and PvP game modes, so you’re always uncovering new paths through levels and finding great flanking spots to take out enemies.”

The studio says it has spent time making sure the AI ​​enemies are more than just cannon fodder.

“At the start of a mission, enemy units won’t know your location, so they’ll simply be busy patrolling around the map. Once you start a hack and start firefights, that’s when things get more intense. Reinforcements equipped with different weapons will dynamically converge your position around the map in unique ways to keep you on your toes,” says the studio. “AI enemies also have a variety of gadgets at their disposal, similar to players, with the ability to throw grenades out, setting traps, breaching rooms by kicking down doors and even inserting C4 charges. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill AI bots that just blindly run into the line of fire – they take cover, flank you, and react intelligently to your movements.”

Co-op VR experiences are great, but the odds are slim that many of your friends will have their own PSVR 2 headset to play with you. Fortunately, First Contact says the PvE mode can be played privately with friends (or solo) and includes public matchmaking to join other players.

Firewall Ultras Live service ambitions

While predecessor Firewall Zero Hour on PSVR was eventually turned into a live service game with regular seasons bringing new maps and other content, First Contact says Firewall Ultra is being designed as a live service title from the ground up.

“Firewall Ultra is designed as the kind of game you can keep coming back to over time on your PSVR 2 and consistently find something fresh and new to do and see. As a live service title, that means constant updates with new content such as maps, weapons and contractors, as well as redesigns for locations like the shooting range and safehouse lobby environment,” the studio says. “We want this to feel like a living, breathing world , which develops over time. Like Firewall Ultra’s world, it is five years in the future from the previous Firewall title (Firewall Zero Hour), as time goes by, Firewall Ultra myself will also see changes.”

To that end, players can almost certainly expect seasonal paid battle passes, just like the original game, which could offer new cosmetics and maybe even contractors for a fee.

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Firewall Ultra will be launched on 24 August 2023 at 8 a.m. PT, exclusively on PSVR 2. The game is priced at $40 for the standard edition and $60 for the deluxe edition; pre-orders are available now.