Syn

–

–PUBLISHER: Tencent | DEVELOPER: Lightspeed and Quantum Studio –GENRE: Online FPS | THEME: Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk –PLATFORM: Download | STATUS: Upcoming  2021 (PC and Consoles)

–

Syn is a game developed by Lightspeed and Quantum Studio, an internal team from Chinese giant Tencent. With CDProjekt set to stun the world with the release of the action game Cyberpunk 2077 by late 2020, Tencent cleverly saw an opportunity there and decided to create its own take on a futuristic open world FPS. In development for PC and consoles using Unreal Engine and in a strict cooperation with Epic Games – Tencent owns a 40 percent stake in the company that made Fortnite – Syn is set to be an ambitious, triple-A project.  Syn takes place in 2035, a much closer timeframe than CDProjekt's Cyberpunk 2077, but the world clearly has drastically changed in 15 years.

The Syn reveal happened via a tech demo running on Unreal Engine – there was no mention if it was UE4 or the new Unreal Engine 5. The short presentation emphasized the real-time visuals that are meant to set a new standard for shooters.

Character customization is one of the main focus of the game, with a technique called strand-based hair system set in place to deliver realistic hair and fur movement. Each character represents a faction and will be joined by a cybernetic pet, with examples showing a heavily weaponized jaguar and hulking bear. Everything shown in the tech demo isn't final, which means that it is likely to change until release, but Tencent has defined a path for its open world Cyberpunk FPS and we'll see if the studio sticks to it.

Vehicles can also be customized with parts and decals in real-time, adding another layer to what is expected to be a blistering and complex cyberpunk city.

As for the shooter part of the game, details are scant. Speculation is rampant based on the open world aspect of Syn, but this could mean anything, from battle royale to hero shooter, something that isn't bound to please many gamers.

The Code Syn release date is yet under wraps, but rumors point to a 2021 release for PC and consoles, which would be PS5 and Xbox Series X. The Syn release is going to be global.