Community feedback is one of the driving forces behind the development of Hunt: Showdown, and so we test every new update together with the community on the Test Server before releasing the changes to the wider public.

Here’s how it works:

• If you own a copy of Hunt: Showdown, you can play on the Test Server.
• The Test Server will appear as a separate game in your Steam library. Access Hunt from that version of the game in your library to join the Test Server play tests.
• You can only access the Test Server during designated testing windows. We announce these windows on Steam, the official Hunt Discord, and our other social media channels.
• We use the Test Server for everything that is not a hotfix. (For example, we use it to test early versions of new maps, new weapons, new game modes, new traits, and major but risky improvements.
• We collect feedback from the Test Server here (and on all of our social media channels), as well as conducting short polls and longer surveys.-After we collect feedback, we implement changes based on that feedback, and then move the update to the live game.

When we decided to release Hunt: Showdown in Early Access, it was clear that we would want the community to be involved at every step of development. A Test Server allows us to share features with players before they are finished, both to see how well everything is working and whether there are still bugs and to find out what you think about features and how you think they would improve your gaming experience. If we want to make a game we all enjoy playing—and that has been our goal from the beginning—we need to know what is working for you and what isn't.

And of course, it is a lot easier to try out new things on a test server than to take them directly to live—that can result in a lot of unhappy players if it leads to crashes or bugs. This extra testing step will allow us to make sure that the new version is stable—no big bugs, no crashes, no FPS drops—before we go live. So…we hope to see you there!

---