POINT OF IMPACT: Is Hyper Front returning under a new name?

Leaks posted on social media are fueling speculation that an alleged VALORANT copy, Hyper Front might make a return on mobile nearly a year after the game was shut down.

Content creators and several Facebook community groups have posted snippets of what appears to be a reimagined version of Hyper Front.

(PHOTO COURTESY: X/DannyINTEL)

The new game, these social media posts say, is “Operation Apocalypse” and features a 5v5 tactical shooter gameplay system.

Hero abilities for the various agents, similar to VALORANT and Hyper Front, have also been teased in various screenshots.

(PHOTO COURTESY: X/DannyINTEL)

Weapons systems used in VALORANT are also shown to be active in Operation Apocalypse, such as this silenced SMG in an in-game screenshot similar in function to the Spectre.

(SCREENSHOT COURTESY: X/m2games)

 

NetEase Games, the developer of Hyper Front, have yet to comment or confirm the release of the said leaks.

THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER THE FORMAT

(PHOTO COURTESY: softonic.com)

It can be recalled that in 2023, Hyper Front was shut down after VALORANT developer Riot Games filed a lawsuit against NetEase Games after alleging that Hyper Front copied various major elements of VALORANT, such as character design and the gameplay mechanisms (i.e. the Starcore in Hyper Front being similar to the Spike used in VALORANT).

The lawsuits were filed in the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil and Singapore.

“We are proud of the community formed around Hyper Front. Thank you all for the support and love during this time and we apologize for the disappointment that this announcement might cause,” NetEase wrote when Hyper Front was taken down.

As of this writing, all social media accounts pertaining to Hyper Front have already been deleted. No formal reason about why the game was shutting down was announced at the time of the deletion.

At launch, Hyper Front was seen as a potential disruptor in the mobile esports scene, with big-name teams from Asia like the Philippines-based Smart Omega squad fielding its own Hyper Front unit.

However, massive social media reports of cheaters in the server, as well as the elements copied from VALORANT, lead to a massive decline in Hyper Front’s popularity.

Meanwhile, Riot Games told ONE Esports in an interview back in January 2024 that VALORANT mobile  is “deep in development.”

“We just don’t want to put Valorant on mobile if it doesn’t work right and if it isn’t as great of an experience as we think we can provide. So I think, that’s taken longer than we’d hoped to make it feel really good, but it’s still in development and something we’re really excited about,” Executive Producer Anna Donlon told ONE Esports in an exclusive interview.

ONE Esports also reported that the next time fans will hear about Valorant Mobile is when the game is closer to launch.

“To keep our ability to learn and understand that it’s healthy, we need to take away the pressure of a timeline,” Donlon told ONE Esports. 

“The more we talk about it, the more players are looking for confirmation of a launch date. Right now, we’re just trying to get it right before we start talking about it more,” she added.

THE ENDGAME: SHOULD IT STICK OR SHOULD IT GO?

NetEase has had a reputation of producing games that were shut down due to two key factors: the prevalence of cheaters, and competitors which provided a more holistic approach than its titles.

Rules of Survival, a battle royale game which defined the shape of mobile battle royale gaming, ended after intense competition from other, more established BR titles such as PUBG Mobile and the BR mode of Call of Duty: Mobile. Rampant social media reports of cheating in the game also was the nail to the coffin.

The challenge now for NetEase is how to future-proof this purported development or “rebirth” of Hyper Front / Operation Apocalypse by making sure that it 1) stands out from the competition by offering a different gameplay course and not just copying familiar elements, and 2) it has a better anti-cheat system. 

Aside from just porting games, NetEase should also look at the ever-growing esports market for mobile games. Games such as Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile have lucrative esports markets – something which Hyper Front, and potentially even VALORANT Mobile, may command a good market share because of their similar premises: a race-to-13, 5v5 battle of strategy, wits, and gunfights.

 

As of posting time, servers for Operation Apocalypse are currently available only in China, and we will wait for any official announcement from the NetEase team if the said game will be released worldwide.

Until then, only speculation can tell whether or not Operation Apocalypse can succeed or fail in the mobile gaming arena. 

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