PlayStation and developer IllFonic confirm that fans will be able to enjoy a Predator: Hunting Grounds free trial weekend before the game is released. Critics have called the game one reason why PlayStation fans should be excited about 2020 and the free trial will let everyone see if IllFonic can give them what they're looking for.
In a trailer on YouTube, PlayStation and IllFonic have announced that the Predator: Hunting Grounds free trial weekend will run on PS4 from March 27, 5AM PST to March 29, 11:59 PST. Players on PS4 will need to have a PlayStation Plus subscription to play in the trial. The trial will also be available to fans on PC through the Epic Games Store and it will have PC and PS4 cross-play support.
IllFonic has shared a good amount of Predator: Hunting Grounds gameplay, revealing how the asymmetrical multiplayer gameplay works. One group of players will get to be the human soldiers while another player gets to be the Predator that tries to take them down.
The Predator is able to use cloaking, speed and powerful weapons to take down the soldiers but the soldiers have numbers and they will be able to use this to fight back. The free trial weekend could give players a way to create these kinds of plans so that they are ready to beat everyone when the game is released in April.
The free trial will also allow players to find out how Predator: Hunting Grounds compares to other asymmetrical multiplayer games. IllFonic also develops Friday the 13th: The Game, which is another asymmetrical multiplayer game. Friday the 13th: The Game and Predator: Hunting Grounds may look different but fans will want to know how different the gameplay is and if IllFonic is just releasing the same game but with soldiers and not camp counselors.
One issue with the free trial weekend is that it doesn't give IllFonic much time to make any changes to the game if fans do find something that they don't like. The Predator: Hunting Grounds release date is less than a month after the free trial weekend has ended. IllFonic does know how to release updates quickly and games like Friday the 13th: The Game do make it unlikely that there will be any huge issues. However, if fans don't like some parts of the gameplay, a month isn't very long to fix it.
Predator: Hunting Grounds is set to release on April 24th, 2020 for PC and PS4.