Phoenix Labs' free-to-play co-op action RPG Dauntless will be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X when both consoles launch this month. Cross-platform play will be supported so those on the new next-gen consoles can continue to play with those on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The next-gen version arrives about a month before Dauntless's next major update. Dauntless Reforged is slated to arrive in December and will "change the way you hunt in the Shattered Isles."
The update will remove Pursuits and Patrols and introduce a longer-lasting hunt type, Hunting Grounds, with deeper progression systems. The goal is to reduce downtime with players having to wait in queues. Additionally, the update will rework the 17 current islands and introduce a brand new one for Hunting Grounds. New creatures on the islands, Behemoths, public events, and activities are also planned.
Phoenix Labs also talked a bit about Trials, acknowledging that it "needs more love." This hunt type is expected to return in early 2021 after Hunting Grounds and the new progression systems have launched. Other areas of the game being addressed are the power creep stemming from Escalation power and resistance bonuses and cells that were introduced to challenge the low-life meta. The goal with this is to ensure that a single build or weapon class does not dominate the meta in Dauntless.
The Xbox Series X launches on November 10 while the PlayStation 5 arrives on November 12. Dauntless will be available for free on both consoles on their respective launch dates.