Evolve Goes Gold, Second Round of Public Testing Next Week

We just can’t get enough of Evolve, that asymmetric shooter by Turtle Rock Studios and 2K. Now that the game has gone “gold” – the end of certification and start of manufacturing plus shipping – it’s likely to hit its targeted 10 February release for PCs and consoles. To celebrate the milestone, they’ve released a meaty intro cinematic alongside a few updates.

You almost start to feel bad for the Goliath there.

Xbox One Open Beta; PC and PS4 Closed Test

With development complete Turtle Rock are turning their attention towards the next round of public testing, set to begin next week.

Xbox One owners get a full-fledged open beta from 15–19 January, with access to the main Hunt mode, two monsters and eight characters. Evacuation mode, described as a dynamic campaign, will be made available from the 17th onwards. To make the deal even sweeter, all unlocked monsters and characters carry over to the released version. Players in the Philippines, however, will not get access to the open beta, neither will the other countries listed here.

The PC and PS4 on the other hand are limited to a smaller, closed technical test that will not include Evacuation mode or transferable unlocks. The PC phase starts 16 January and is open to those who were invited to the previous Big Alpha as well as those who own either Left 4 Dead or BioShock Infinite in their Steam library. The PS4 phase begins on 17 January for those who were invited to the Big Alpha, and will once again require PlayStation Plus membership to play.

Money and Hair for Charity

The other bit of news coming out of Turtle Rock Studios involves 227.5 inches (5.7 metres) of hair and US$22,750 (approximately SG$30K).

It’s a follow-up to an earlier promise for the developers to not shave or cut their hair until Evolve passed certification, pledging $50 for each inch collected. Long story short the total worked out to be 227.5 inches (donated to Locks of Love), which in turn equates to a $11,375 pledge. Publisher 2K matched that amount and the money was sent to community-favourite Child’s Play Charity.

That’s certainly one way to kick off the year.

Evolve is rated Age Advisory 16 by the MDA and releases 10 February for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Pre-orders include the Monster Expansion Pack, which offers the second Monster as a free download when ready and the Savage Goliath skin.