Tier One: Direct Action is a spiritual successor to VR tactical shooter Onward, and the Kickstarter campaign is now live.
Developed by Niorun Studios, Tier One: Direct Action is a tactical FPS inspired by ArmA and Rainbow Six Siege. It emphasizes teamwork and realistic VR mechanics by attempting to mirror real-life equipment handling. The game offers a customizable arsenal of weapons, attachments, tools, character customization, destructible environments, and more. Here's our first look at gameplay.
While the full release promises 10 different game modes for both PvP and PvE, Tier One: Direct Action features three gameplay modes in early access - Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Satcom (Objective Mode). Experience points are earned through missions and engagements, unlocking new skills and items through a progression system.
As promised in its initial reveal, the Kickstarter campaign is now live with a $43,331 goal that ends on August 30. Presently, it's reached nearly 40% of that funding and the different reward tiers offer early access to the game, exclusive skins and emblems, a digital art book, and more. Stretch goals include an expanded social area at $108k, an accelerated release timeline for early access at $216k, and single-player challenge modes for the full release at $432k.
Niorun Studios states eight former Onward developers are involved in development. When asked for clarification on their roles, a representative provided the following information:
Kevin, our Head of Engineering at Niorun Studios, previously served as a Gameplay Engineer at Downpour/Meta. Daniel, our Head of Game Design and QA, was a Senior QA Tester and Game Designer at Downpour/Meta. Jack, our Community Manager and QA, worked as a QA Analyst at Downpour. Thomas, another Senior QA at Niorun Studios, also held a QA Lead position at Downpour/Meta.
Two further senior engineers and a Senior 3D Artist preferred to remain unnamed, who previously worked as gameplay programmers and a 3D Environment Artist for Downpour and Meta respectively. The eighth member of staff requested their details not be disclosed at all.
Tier One: Direct Action currently targets an early access release for Q3 2024 on Quest App Lab. Early access ports for PSVR 2, Pico and Steam will follow "between Q1 & Q2 2025," while the full release is planned for Q3/Q4 2025.
Update Notice
This article was initially published on June 27, 2024. It was updated on August 1, 2024, when the Kickstarter campaign went live and with staff information.
