Saber Interactive revealed Expeditions only a few short months ago, but now the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed MudRunner and SnowRunner off-roading sims already has a release date—and it’s not far off at all.
The studio has confirmed that Expeditions: A MudRunner Game will be trekking onto the scene this coming Spring—March 5, 2024, to be exact.
Gears and grime
The announcement of the game’s target launch date has been accompanied by a new trailer, showing off various aspects of gameplay.
New features are placed under the spotlight, such as how the player can use binoculars to view faraway research targets. Vehicles have new gadgets too, such a the Echo Sounder, used to “track the depth of bonds and fords” and can even scan the bottom of a body of water, as the in-game description shows.
A returning classic and ever-so-useful tool is none other than the winch, which appears that it will be upgradeable, as is the case in past titles. That said, it too has received more utility upgrades as an anchor can be hooked onto it to help support heavy loads with ease.
A big new change is that tires can be deflated on demand, a feature that’s used in the real-world to help improve traction on rough terrain. It will work the same here in Expeditions.
The next tool shown off is a Metal Detector which is being used in-game to “scan the surrounding area for zones with useful resources in close proximity.”
Since this is a Runner title, roll-overs are inevitable. Rather than trying to make use of the winch to (hopefully) right the vehicle, now there’s a Jack Screw which can push the vehicle back up onto its wheels.
The final fresh tool shown off is none other than the Camera Drone, making scouting the surrounding area a breeze.
Various locales are shown off, including returning environments like a dense forest and mud-laden swamp area, along with new areas such as an arid canyon. Even more environments are promised to be included.
Beyond the tree line
Other than all the new tools and locales shown off, the trailer also gave us another look at some of the vehicles that we’ll be driving. What perhaps stands out the most are the very artsy new paint schemes that have been applied to many of the vehicles, suggesting more creative flair when it comes to customising each truck.
This was already a big improvement in SnowRunner, so it’s great to see it built upon further in this latest entry to the series.
Speaking of SnowRunner, a curious fan pitched an interesting question to Focus Entertainment, the publisher’s of the game: “will support for SnowRunner continue after the release of Expeditions?” As it turns out, that answer is yes.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game will be coming to PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. The Steam edition of the game is already available to pre-order via the official Focus Store, where there are three editions: Standard ($39.99,) Year 1 ($59.99,) and Supreme ($69.99.)
There’s a infograph that shows off the difference between each:
The key difference shown here is that the Supreme Edition will feature various extra vehicles, along with the Year 1 Pass. That said, the Year 1 Edition includes everything but ‘The Pioneer Pack;’ no description as to what exactly this DLC includes has been released yet.
Pre-ordering any one of the three editions will allow you to play 4 days earlier than launch day customers.
MudRunner, SnowRunner and Spintires before them have left behind quite the legacy. Thus, Expeditions has both a lot of hope from the community considering the track record of its predecessors, as well as some big shoes to fill to see just how much it can improve the formula.
Either way, it’s looking to be an impressive new project and not a bad price either.
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