Battle royale fans rejoice—a Web3 Wild West shooter is coming.

The tale of Grit’s development is somewhat long and storied, which for better or worse is common in the multi-year trenches of video game development. After previously being set to launch on PC gaming marketplace Steam for $20, Web3 publisher Gala Games picked it up with plans to expand development and make it free-to-play with optional NFTs. 

Before Gala, Grit’s original announcement trailer got mixed feedback. While some gamers were excited, others complained about “crappy graphics” that, to them, more closely resembled a mobile game than an immersive PC title.

But Grit has come a long way since then—and it’s expected to launch in May on the Epic Games Store. I played an early access version of Gala’s Grit, and while my playtest version didn’t have NFTs in the mix, it did offer horseback riding, gunslinging, and heart-racing battles amidst a sonically-pleasing Old West landscape.

(By Kate Irwin)