Phase 1 of Dark Machine First Access Edition Is Live

The developers of Tencent-backed web3 mech shooter Dark Machine have officially launched Phase 1 of The First Access Edition, giving eligible players an early opportunity to try out the team-based title for a limited time.

How Does Phase 1 of Dark Machine First Access Edition Work?

The First Access Edition is a chance to play an early version of the in-development mech shooter, with Phase 1 running from Thursday, March 13th, to Sunday, March 16th. However, there are exact times in which you need to be present in order to play. Each day, servers are open for 2 hours only, from 10:00 PHT/SGT to 12:00. These event times are for the first phase only. In future phases, we might see different timeframes.

Exact details on the features included in this phase were not revealed. To participate, you need to own a Dark Machine VIP Access NFT, which is available via OpenSea on the Ethereum network for the floor price of 0.08 ETH at the time of writing. Once you have the required NFT, you’re eligible to play by downloading the game from the official website, linked in the announcement post on X. You will have to connect your wallet holding the NFT to their official website in order to download the game and enjoy this exclusive sneak peek. Your wallet must be compatible with Wallet Connect, so wallets such as MetaMask and Trust Wallet are supported.

This version is available only for Windows PCs. Here are the official minimum and recommended system requirements:

• Minimum system requirements:
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
  • GPU: GeForce GTX 2080Ti or Radeon RX 6650 XT
  • RAM / VRAM: 12 GB / 8 GB
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)
  • Storage: 20 GB SSD
• Recommended system requirements:
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
  • GPU: GeForce RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 6800 XT
  • RAM / VRAM: 16 GB / 16 GB
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)
  • Storage: 20 GB SSD

What Is Dark Machine?

Dark Machine is a team-based mech shooter in which players take control of Destroids, large mechs used to fight against other players in asynchronous arena battles. The developers aim to use blockchain technology to democratize esports and bring it away from its closed community of pros over to a bigger playerbase of skilled players. This means the web3 gaming community can look forward to competing in decentralized tournaments while enjoying free to play, skill to earn gameplay.

This web3 game will allow players to experience intense team-based third-person shooter matches where two teams can have up to 7 players. Next to potential 7v7 gameplay (from 3 to 7 players), maps will feature destructible environments and mechs will have various customization options while also consisting of detailed destructible effects of their own. There will be different types of mechs to play with, and each can have up to 3 weapons at their disposal. Throughout a match, it’s possible to enlarge your mech. This will be done by calling in a dropship to receive weapon upgrades and dynamic enlargement. The bigger your mech is, the more destructive, agility, and energy advantages you’re set to have. Check out the whitepaper to learn more.

Dark Machine is currently in development for PC, with a mobile release for both Android and iOS planned to follow post-launch. Next to being backed by Tencent, other game partners are said to include Immutable, Sui, Mantle, Yield Guild Games, SwissBorg, Bitget, MEXC, and more.