Nexon Games’ new free-to-play looter shooter, The First Descendant, is having quite the successful launch. Less than 24 hours after its public release, it already sits at #6 on Steam’s 100 most played games list, with over 225,000 players online at the time of writing.
In the third-person co-op game, players take on the role of Descendants, special fighters who inherit unique powers that aid them in their fights against The Vulgus. The Vulgus are a race of hostile alien enemies who seek to destroy Ingris, the fictional world in which the game takes place.
“Descendants, on behalf of everyone on our development team, we sincerely thank you for choosing to join us in the fight against The Vulgus,” creative director Minseok Joo said in a recent press release. “When we first developed this concept in 2019, we wanted to create a world inspired by some of our personal favorite looter shooters. The genre holds a special place in our hearts, and our development team has worked hard to create a game that we believe will proudly stand among those prominent titles.”
“Since The First Descendant was our first global multi-platform launch, we wanted to create something that would allow the voices of our players to be heard,” added producer Beomjun Lee. “Our goal is not only to create a game that we are proud of, but also to create something that our players will love and enjoy for a long time. We’ve made a lot of changes for launch based on the community’s requests, and we hope that it will make the experience even more enjoyable.”
The game’s pre-season launch period introduced a battle pass that includes three new playable Descendants: Esiemo, Enzo, and Yujin. The battle pass also grants players access to new weapons, Void Intercept Battles, and Instance Dungeons, along with other exclusive content.
Looking to the future, Nexon Games has announced plans to update the game five weeks after launch, though it’s not immediately clear what that update will contain. A second update, Season 1 Episode: Invasion, is set to release sometime in August and will include a new Descendant, new Colossus, new dungeon, and new weapon. According to Nexon, Season 1 Episode: Invasion will also delve deeper into the backstory of a “fan-favorite Descendant.”
The First Descendant is currently available for free on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. For more information on Descendants, weapons, and the new Battle Pass, check out the game’s official website.