Free-to-play anime MOBA battle royale Eternal Return has gone from strength to strength since its launch in October 2020. As it approaches its one-year anniversary since its Early Access release on the Steam Store, the development team at Nimble Neuron announced Eternal Return will launch on the Windows Store on October 19th 2021. Further announcements at the Tokyo Game Show 2021’s MS Xbox Showcase stated that Eternal Return will also making its console debut on Xbox in the near future.
What is Eternal Return?
Based on the remote island of Lumia, scientists have conducted secret experiments to create a new race of extraordinary humans with unique powers. These humans form the many different characters that you can choose from in this MOBA, where players must fight and survive against 17 other opponents to be the last one standing.
Eternal Return could be easily summarised as Genshin Impact meets Fortnite, with its anime aesthetic and characters and its multiplayer battle royale gameplay modes. But that comparison may be too reductive for a game that offers so much more. This battle royale game also has a survival twist, with a crafting system for players to create new weapons, food, traps and armour to survive against their foes.
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Nimble Neuron
Eternal Return comes from South Korean development studio Nimble Neuron.
Starting out in 2013 with its first character collection Battle RPG mobile games, Mighty Quest and Hunters League, Nimble Neuron (then known as O’ol Blue Inc) continued to grow in popularity, and made the transition to PC gaming with their first free-to-play survival strategy 2D indie PC game, Immortal Soul: Black Survival.
With the success of the initial Immortal Soul game, the development team created many much-loved characters, who eventually made their way into the new 3D MOBA game.
Eternal Return was released on the Steam Store in Early Access on 14th October 2020, with the first anniversary of the game coming up in just a few weeks.
The Eternal Return Gameplay Experience
Rather than the usual tactics you might employ in a regular MOBA, Eternal Return comes with a unique difference – a survival crafting system more typical of RPG gameplay.
Players can craft new weapons, armour, and other means of survival during their foray into the battle arena, with the promise of Legendary Weapons for more seasoned players.
With up to 18 players in the arena, you and 17 others can battle to be the last survivor and secure your victory.
There are few different gaming modes to choose from for players who want to practice Eternal Return and improve their form.
Private games can take place between friends or small eSports teams with Custom Matches (similar to the principle seen in Dead By Daylight), or in solo gameplay against the AI.
For players wanting to pit themselves against the world (or at least the server), PvP is available for public online ranked matches.
Windows Store & Xbox release
Excitement reached fever pitch when the announcement of Eternal Return’s Microsoft Store launch came at Tokyo Game Show 2021.
Eternal Return Season 3 is currently coming towards the end of its run on October 10th 2021, a week after the Windows Store launch, before Season 4 will kick off on November 11th 2021.
Sometime after Season 4 starts, Eternal Return will be available on Xbox through Xbox Game Pass as a free-to-play game. Game Pass users can expect additional perks to unlock new characters and other in-game add-ons to help get players started.
As well as the launch, Nimble Neuron also teased the arrival of 3 new characters to Eternal Return: JP, a computer hacker; Rosalio, a baseball player; and Mai, a fashion designer. The character designs weren’t yet shown at Tokyo Game Show, so this is something that fans will have to keep an eye out for in future announcements.
Where To Play Eternal Return
Eternal Return will come to the Microsoft Store on October 19th 2021, with further announcements for an Xbox release date in the very near future.
Play Eternal Return for free on the Steam Store or download for Windows 10 and 11 to join the battles of Lumia today.
