Yesterday, Xbox One fans got some good news out of in-development pirate MMO Atlas: It’s launching on the platform’s early access equivalent on October 8th, with full crossplay with PC players on Steam.
Today, however, PC players are getting the attention of Grapecard (a mashup of Studio Wildcard and Grapeshot Games that I am shamelessly stealing from MOP commenter Arktouros). In the latest Captain’s Log, Grapecard tells players that “there will be simultaneous updates and content pushes for both Xbox and PC ensuring the delivery of the same experience for Pathfinders on both platforms” as well as “optional single-player and private session modes.” The downside is that there will be a full data wipe on September 28th (this Saturday), followed by the relaunch of the NA PvP Network, and then the “permanent relaunch of all other networks” in conjunction with the Xbox One launch.
“Our decision to wipe the Networks was not made lightly and involved much deliberation and factoring in of technical aspects and the impact on our current PC players. We have made big changes to the game under the hood, revamped the world map with the addition of over 70 new, unique island templates, as well as some considerable optimization changes and limits put in place which required a full data wipe. After these sets of changes, we do not plan to wipe the network again, even with the introduction of additional platforms and new areas & islands further down our development timeline. We value and appreciate the time spent on the game and the only reason we carry out these wipes is after exhausting all possible alternatives and when they become a necessity.”
Saturday’s update is a big one too; expect a new work map and biome layout, 70+ new core island templates, new cosmetics, performance improvements, Gamepad support, cats with hats, and new ship, structure, and tame limits. Plus, Wild Pirate Camps go live: Players will “take over each island across the Atlas by attacking and claiming procedural enemy pirate camps, guarded by cannons, pirates wielding all sorts of weapons, and even powerful pirate ships,” according to the studio. There’s a bit of a roadmap too; we’ve included that up in the header of this post.
As we noted yesterday, the game has had a rocky early access run since its rollout last December, dropping 95% of its peak monthly players in that time, so we’ll be watching the console launch closely.
