MOBA hero shooter Gigantic makes a comeback in April, closed beta on Steam this weekend

A forgotten PvP game from 2017 is set to make a truly gigantic comeback after shutting down just over six months after launching.

Gigantic puts a twist on both the hero shooter and MOBA genres by making both its payload and base a giant monster that moves around the map and can change locations. Originally developed by Motiga, the title failed to capture a large audience, but Gearbox Interactive thinks it’s ready for the big-time with a “definitive” re-release called Gigantic: Rampage Edition.

“The original Gigantic game from Motiga maintained a passionate and loyal community that kept the spirit of the game alive throughout all these years,” president of Gearbox Publishing San Francisco Yoon Im said. “It was through all of their excitement coupled with our desire to bring Gigantic back one day that we are thrilled to finally confirm we’re bringing back and making it better than ever with Gigantic: Rampage Edition.”

Im said Gigantic: Rampage Edition is “a fun refresh of the original game with new maps, new heroes, and best of all, there are no microtransactions,” promising that players can unlock all of the game’s content just by playing and making progress over time.

Abstraction Games, which has worked on Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, has extensive experience in remastering and reimagining older titles, so it seems to be a good fit for the Gigantic revival as the new lead developer of the re-release.

“It’s an honor to help Gigantic make an incredible comeback,” Abstraction senior game designer and Rampage Edition design lead Bart Vossen said. “With Rampage Edition, we knew right away that we wanted to make everything fans loved about Gigantic bigger, better, and even more accessible for all players. We can’t wait for players to dive in and see all [the] new content and improvements that make this the definitive edition.”

Rampage Edition will include two new maps called Picaro Bay and Heaven’s Ward, a new game mode called Rush, free post-release content, and crossplay between console and PC. To celebrate the news, Gearbox announced a closed beta experience for Feb. 22 and 23, and players looking to try their hand can apply for access on the game’s Steam page.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition launches on April 9 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One at $19.99.