Design-Your-Own-Gun FPS Loadout Heads to PS4 as Console Exclusive

Free-to-play first-person shooter Loadout won't be limited to PC for much longer, as developer Edge of Reality announced today that the game is headed to PlayStation 4 as a console exclusive. In other words, Xbox One owners hoping for a version of the game are out of luck.

Compared with other multiplayer shooters, Loadout's standout feature is the ability to design and use your own weapons. Players can customize everything from the chassis type (launcher, rifle, etc.) to the type of shot fired (standard bullets, flaming shots, healing beams) to the gun's behavior (want your shots to corkscrew on their way to the target? Fine!). Edge of Reality has previously claimed the customization system allows for more than 44 billion variations. Outside of the weaponcrafting, Loadout sets itself apart by being exceptionally violent--almost surprisingly so, given its cartoon-style graphics.

Today's pre-E3 reveal on the PlayStation Blog makes no mention of any changes to the game as it transitions from PC to PS4. In the comments, creative director Mark Nau responded to a question about the game's frame rate, saying, "Our top people say they are shooting for 60 [frames per second], and are confident it can be reached. Shipping at 30 and later updating to 60 is a possibility, but not ideal. They will know more once they've had a chance to get in and optimize."

No release date has been announced for the game's launch on PS4. The trailer above teases that it's "coming soon," but Nau says, "We don't have a target release yet."

When questioned about the game's free-to-play business model, Nau replied, "We've got millions of satisfied players who have been able to play a great game for no cost at all! For a lot of people, that's a much better deal than paying up-front for a shipped title. Having a preference for pay-up-front is fine. There's plenty of games out there like that, too. We've done both kinds of games, and we really like the ongoing game support that we can provide our players in the F2P model."

Following a lengthy beta, Loadout officially launched on PC at the end of January. Within two weeks, the game had attracted more than two million players. Since then, that figure has topped a total of 3 million players. The game earned a 7.0 in GameSpot's review earlier this year, though it has since been updated with a variety of improvements and new features. The latest such update was released this week and brought the game to version 4.0, which introduced the ability to host private matches.

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