Gray Zone Warfare was one of the biggest FPS surprises of last year. A fresh take on the extraction shooter genre that was pioneered by Escape From Tarkov and Hunt Showdown, it exploded on Steam, sold a million copies, and jumped up the ratings thanks to some transformative updates. Delta Force has since arrived on the scene. The likes of Ready Or Not and Battlefield are also competing for the tactical, realistic FPS crown. But the team behind Gray Zone Warfare has some big plans. Its freshman year wasn't perfect, the developer its, but 2025 holds a lot of promise.
Arriving on Steam back in April 2024, FPS with an open-world map, PvP, and PvE. There are quests, missions, and deathmatches, and what sets GZW apart from some of its competitors is its heightened realism, particularly with regards to the health system. Get hit in the arm, for example, and although you can patch yourself up, your aiming will be affected and you may not be able to carry as much equipment. There are other players to contend with, but also AI factions.
Though it's still in early access, 1.5m copies of Gray Zone Warfare have already been sold – one million of the base game and 500,000 across the various enhanced editions. Back in September, developer Madfinger revealed the shooter's ambitious Night Ops update introduced new weapons, night-vision googles, and a dynamic day/night system. Across 19 updates, patches, and hotfixes, more than 2,000 bugs have been fixed by Madfinger.
But the developer its the release of Gray Zone Warfare could have gone better. While Madfinger states that GZW saved the company financially, it wants to improve the game even further.
"At the beginning of 2024, the studio faced limited resources and almost no money left to cover salaries," Madfinger says. "Everything depended on Gray Zone Warfare's success – and it paid off. While the Early Access launch was a financial success, it was far from flawless. Both players and developers were met with challenges. By the end of the year, the most prominent issue with overpowered AI was significantly improved, which contributed to the growth of recent reviews from 68% to 76%."
While its Steam rating based on lifetime reviews is still mixed, factoring only reviews from the last thirty days, Gray Zone Warfare has earned the much more impressive 'mostly positive' badge. Now, Madfinger outlines its plans for 2025.
Two major Gray Zone Warfare updates are on the way. These will introduce a dynamic weather system, expanded PvP games, and a more complex and in-depth story. Details on the first of these major updates will be revealed in the " weeks." If you want to give GZW a try for yourself, just head here.
Alternatively, try some of the other best open-world games available on PC.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or our community Discord to stay in the know.