Mil-Sim Shooter ‘Onward’ Unveils Highly Anticipated Major Update After a Year Break

The tactical mil-sim shooter Onward, developed by Downpour Interactive under the Meta umbrella, is gearing up for a significant 2.0 update. This is an eagerly anticipated event as the last substantial update dropped almost a year ago.

Despite sparse updates over the past year, following the release of the major ‘Mercenary’ update—introduced in February 2024, bringing in a new PVE mode and various graphic refinements—Onward is anything but forgotten. Downpour Interactive is now preparing to launch the 2.0 update, which, according to a recent Meta blog post, promises to be the most extensive update yet, packed with a wealth of new content.

Players can expect an impressive graphical revamp spanning weapons and utilities, alongside the introduction of a novel Operator system that boasts 20 new characters, and fresh map content. More details are set to be released “very soon,” so stay tuned for further announcements.

This update comes after a period of upheaval in the gaming industry, including significant layoffs at Downpour Interactive in 2023. This shakeup followed the departure of the studio’s founder and CEO, Dante Buckley, who established the company back in 2015 and left just a month before the layoffs.

Onward originally launched in Early Access on Steam in 2016 and later became available for the original Oculus Quest in 2020. It has carved a niche for itself with its focus on realistic squad-based gameplay and meticulous simulation of real-world firearms.

For those interested in diving into this immersive experience, Onward is available for purchase at $25 on the Horizon Store for Quest 2 and above, as well as on Steam for PC VR headsets.