Pioner (video game)

Pioner is an upcoming open-world first-person shooter video game developed by GFAGames for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. The game is set on a post-apocalyptic Soviet-era island. It is scheduled for release in 2024.

Development
The game has been developed by the Russian studio GFAGames since its founding in 2021. As of 2021, 25 people were involved in the creation of Pioner. The game was developed on the Unreal Engine.

Beta testing is planned before the game's release. In November 2021, Tencent acquired a minority stake in GFAGames, and a month later the co-owner of GFAGames announced that the game would be released in 2022. The release was eventually pushed back to 2024.

Pioner will be distributed on a buy-to-play model.

Gameplay
Pioner is a first-person shooter with elements of role-playing and online multiplayer. The game will be implemented in PvE and PvP modes. In order to make the game realistic, developers abandoned the player character's health bar and levels of enemies. In addition, the events taking place in the game world will be synchronized with real time, meaning patrols and bandits will be less frequent in the nighttime, and during the daytime, one can hunt animals or mutants.

The game will feature story tasks and faction tasks. The user will be able to interact with various factions, building relationships with them and increasing their level of loyalty. The amount of bonuses received will depend on the level of loyalty. Some tasks will be located in closed locations, which can be accessed alone or in a group. Fighting against real players will take place in special arenas. A large part of the island is designated for this purpose, which is called "empty lands". The entire game world of Pioner is about 50 square kilometers, not including dungeons. Precise details of the game world will not be disclosed by the developers until the final release.

The protagonist must eat and rest in order to maintain strength. The game will indicate the rating and rarity of equipment, accuracy, and weapon damage. Weapons will be produced from available means, artifacts, or energy of anomalies with the help of a machine or workbench.

Plot
The game is set on an isolated Soviet-era island with a high-radiation environment, which was previously used to maintain a system of bunkers and laboratories. The island is inhabited by wild animals, mutants, and anomalies.

The island's population is divided into four factions. Two of these are the "Source Conglomerate" (local islanders) and the "Brigade" (paramilitary unit). Faction "Brigade" (Yeremenko's Motorized Rifle Brigade) is headed by Colonel Yeremenko and is led by majors from the Alpha Division, 157th Assault Regiment, and 156th Security Regiment. Other factions were not reported by the developers.

Reception
Various reviewers have noted similarities to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat and Escape from Tarkov.