Hawken is a free-to-play multiplayer mech first-person shooter video game. The game features five game modes: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Co-op Bot Team Deathmatch, Siege, and Missile Assault. It follows the freemium model of game monetization—with in-game purchases as the main source of revenue. Hawken had closed alpha and beta programs that took place before the official PC open beta release on 12 December 2012. The game had been constantly updated with new content and balance changes in the form of a game patch until Spring 2014. Following Reloaded Games' acquisition of the game's IP and assets in March 2015, the developers launched the game on the console platforms in early July 2016. On October 2, 2017, the developers announced via the game's Facebook page that on January 2, 2018, the PC servers will be permanently shut down, along with it the PC platform and any DLC/purchasable content. The developers cited a need to "refocus our development efforts". The game is still active on consoles, being developed by Hawken Entertainment and published by 505 Games. In 2020 a group of fans called "Hawakening" have revived the game in offline mode for PC, they promise soon to recover its multiplayer functions. Gameplay Hawken is a mech-based first-person shooter. The game takes place in a dystopian human-colonized planet industrialized to the point of collapse, in which the hunt for resources has become a battle for survival. The player assumes the role of a pilot within a biped battle mech—armed with a variety of ballistic cannons and missile weaponry. Relatively agile, these machines are equipped with booster jets that allow them to travel faster and hover in short jumps. Unlike many other first-person shooters, weapons have unlimited ammunition, but are prone to overheating during sustained fire. Overheating will shut down all weapons of the mech, forcing the player to find a safe place to recover. Players can choose alternate weapons, equipment and upgrades for all mech types to match a playstyle or to fill a specific role for a team. In combat, the player will be able to side dash, boost, and make 180 degree turns to compensate for the slow movement of the mech—which in turn will deplete the recharging fuel gauge. Hawken consists of ten playable maps: Bazaar, Bunker, Facility, Front Line, Highways, Last Eco, Origin, Prosk, Uptown, and Wreckage. There are a total of three different game modes available to the