Game industry veteran John Smedley is returning to the shooter space with Reaper Actual, a sprawling open-world extraction-action hybrid developed alongside key creators from PlanetSide 2. The team revealed during Gamescom (via MMO News) that the game is targeting a Q1 2026 release, with its first playable test penciled in for September.
Set on a massive island roughly four times the size of Warzone’s Al Mazrah, Reaper Actual promises a persistent world where players juggle battle royale intensity, extraction shooter tension, and loot-driven RPG mechanics. You’ll own multiple hideouts—perhaps a submarine, warehouse, or even a cruise ship—that you can raid or defend, and AI-directed missions and dynamic events drive conflict across the map.
Gameplay leans toward a methodical tempo, with a time-to-kill and feel similar to Warzone, but wrapped in a slower, more tactical skin. Vehicles and customizable operators—with buyable and sellable loadouts—are part of the mix, and death isn’t punishing: you keep your hideouts and most progress, with respawns available on-site.
In a bold bid to blend Web3 mechanics with broader accessibility, Reaper Actual will include an optional blockchain layer—featuring NFT-based bases, skins, and skins trading—though Web3 content runs on separate servers and is entirely optional, keeping the core game Web2-friendly via Steam and Epic.
The studio behind the game, Distinct Possibility, recently raised $30.5 million to fuel development. The funds will support dual versions—a traditional PC launch and a Web3 option—and help power infrastructure, community-building, and server demands.
With its hybrid genre approach—part extraction shooter, part battle royale, and part persistent MMO—plus its PlanetSide 2 pedigree, Reaper Actual is positioning itself as an ambitious genre mash-up. Its debut test next month should give a clearer read on whether it can deliver on its bold promises before its full launch in early 2026.
