The year 2023 is already a few months old and shooter fans are still waiting for the first release of a new, promising title. However, some exciting online shooters are still to come in 2023. Here, we present 7 upcoming shooters.
What is this list about? The list includes seven online shooters that will be released in 2023. It features both PvP shooters and PvE and coop titles.
We briefly introduce the titles and explain what each game is about. Some of the titles already offered a beta in 2023, where you may have already been able to test the games.
Counter-Strike 2
Genre: Tactical shooter | Developer: Valve | Platform: PC | Release date: Summer 2023 |
Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What is Counter-Strike 2 about? Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) will be the official successor to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and is expected to be released as an update for the tactical shooter in summer 2023. Players will continue to play their skins and the already known maps, but on a newer engine, which brings some changes.
The gameplay of CS2 should be familiar to most shooter fans from predecessors like CS:GO: Two teams, consisting of 5 players each, try to either plant a bomb at one of two spots or prevent the planting, or defuse the bomb before it detonates.
The successful detonation of the bomb or prevention grants a point for the winning team. Multiple rounds are played, and the team that wins more rounds wins the match. After half of the rounds played, roles are swapped, and the attacking team must then prevent the bomb from being planted.
Since March 22, a limited test has also been running, in which selected players could participate. Recently, however, players reported that they were kicked from the beta servers, leading to speculation that the testing phase has ended.
XDefiant
Genre: Arena shooter | Developer: Ubisoft | Platform: PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC | Release date: 2023 | Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What is XDefiant about? In XDefiant, you compete against other players in various PvP modes like Domination and Payload, aiming to secure victory for your team. You take on the role of various factions from Ubisoft games.
For example, you can briefly become invisible with a “Splinter Cell” character, boost your health points with a freedom fighter from Far Cry 6, or send in a drone from the Cleaners in The Division that ignites your enemies and deals significant damage.
Additionally, XDefiant is particularly characterized by fast movement and easy weapon handling, which players were able to test in various alpha and beta phases in 2022 and 2023. The latest beta of XDefiant took place in April 2023.
Payday 3
Genre: Coop shooter (PvE) | Developer: Starbreeze Studios | Platform: PS5, Xbox Series, PC | Release date: 2023 | Model: Buy-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
There is already a short teaser video for Payday 3, but it does not give you a good impression of the shooter’s gameplay. For a better illustration, we will embed a video of the predecessor, Payday 2.
What is Payday about? Payday 3 is a coop shooter that the developers at Starbreeze Studios claim will still be released in 2023 and follows the success of the predecessor Payday 2, which was particularly praised on Steam.
Your task will again be to commit crimes in various scenarios, such as robbing banks or pursuing other criminal activities. The way you approach the individual missions will be determined by you, as planning is a fundamental part of the game’s principle.
It is therefore up to you whether you march in through the front door with a big bang and heavy weapons or proceed quietly and stealthily while trying to avoid triggering an alarm.
The Finals
Genre: Arena shooter | Developer: Embark Studios | Platform: PS5, Xbox Series, PC |
Release date: 2023 | Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
What is The Finals about? In The Finals, you compete in a kind of game show against other players. A quickplay match lasts eight minutes and is contested by 4 teams of 3 players each.
In each round, you have to grab containers with money, defend against other players, and bring them to a drop-off point. Once you have dropped off a money container, the content will be credited to your account. Your goal is to collect more money than your opponents to emerge victorious.
For this purpose, various weapons and gadgets are available to you on the battlefield. You can also blow up entire buildings and utilize the enormous destructibility of the maps to alter the terrain to your advantage and gain a tactical edge.
A closed beta already took place in 2023, in which MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider participated and summarized his first impressions of The Finals for you.
The Division Heartland
Genre: PvEvP shooter | Developer: Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft | Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC | Release date: 2023 | Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: Third-Person
The Division Heartland is set to be a mix of extraction shooter and survival game and takes place in the American small town of Silver Creek. In addition to a multitude of enemies, you will encounter a deadly contamination that is spreading in the small town. There will also be diseases and dehydration.
Your task in Silver Creek is to protect the town from rogue agents, criminal factions, and a deadly contamination. In doing so, you will assist the agent “Mackenzie Amber Reed” in her fight against her former commander Killian Tower, who has murdered his former unit.
The latest installment in The Division series incorporates a day-night cycle, which adopts the habits of the Dark Zone: During the day, you complete missions and achieve goals. At night, new, more dangerous enemies arrive, and other players can make your life difficult.
Hyenas
Genre: Extraction shooter | Developer: Creative Assembly | Platform: PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC | Release date: 2023 | Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person
In a world where Earth no longer exists and most of humanity lives in orbit, you join the namesake group of thieves, the Hyenas.
Your goal is to steal the treasures of the wealthy who have been living on Mars since the destruction of our world, hoarding pop culture artifacts like Rubik’s Cubes and action figures.
The game developed by Creative Assembly is an extraction shooter and focuses on PvEvP. In 2023, you already had the chance to participate in a free alpha of Hyenas.
Synced
Genre: Loot shooter | Developer: NExT Studios | Platform: PC | Release date: Summer 2023 |
Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: Third-Person
In Synced, humanity looks into an apocalyptic future where technology, originally promised to bring a bright future, has turned against humankind, creating mechanized beasts called Nanos.
In Synced, you fight as mercenaries called runners for the new world. You collect loot to improve your equipment and weapons with mods. Additionally, there are the so-called Primes, which can be deployed by your runner in combat after synchronizing with an enemy Nano.
You were even able to test Synced in an open beta as early as 2022. MeinMMO’s Destiny expert Britta has also played the shooter and summarized her impressions:
New loot shooter Synced particularly interests fans of Division and Destiny 2 – Here’s how it plays
