Dauntless expects to triple its three million players with Epic store and console launch

Phoenix Labs’ Dauntless is the free-to-play monster hunting game that’s been in open beta for just under a year now. When it launches on consoles in April, Dauntless will also abandon its bespoke launcher and become an Epic Games Store exclusive (current players will have to opt in to have their Dauntless accounts merged with Epic Games Store accounts). Phoenix Labs says the decision came down to Epic’s willingness to sit down and talk with them, and the promise the publisher made to deliver more players. “Epic’s been an amazing partner for us for a long time,” Phoenix Labs PR manager Andy Burt explains from the GDC expo floor. He was demonstrating the latest build of Dauntless at Epic's booth. “Their vision for keeping players connected really aligned with what we want to do.” That includes building what Phoenix Labs calls a ‘One Dauntless’ experience, which will allow for cross-platform play between PC and consoles. But Burt said Epic has also been very transparent with Phoenix Labs, and there’s been a free flow of communication between the companies since the beginning, sometimes including daily calls. That’s not generally something that can be said of Valve.