‘Onward’ Mil-Sim Shooter Unveils First Significant Update After Year-Long Hiatus

Onward, the tactical mil-sim shooter crafted by Downpour Interactive and under the umbrella of Meta, is on the verge of unveiling its much-anticipated 2.0 update. Fans of the game have been eagerly waiting, as it’s been nearly a year since the last significant update.

Although there have been some minor updates over the past year, Onward has not been neglected. The previous major update, titled ‘Mercenary,’ rolled out in February 2024, introducing a Player versus Environment (PVE) mode alongside a variety of graphical improvements.

Now, Downpour Interactive is gearing up to release the 2.0 update for Onward. According to a recent blog post by Meta, this update is poised to be “the biggest ever” for the game, promising a wealth of new content.

Among the highlights set to roll out are a “massive graphical overhaul” that will touch on both weapons and utilities. Additionally, players can look forward to a fresh Operator system featuring 20 new characters, along with new map content. Meta has hinted that more details about the 2.0 update will be disclosed “very soon.”

This update comes in the wake of some significant shakeups within the gaming industry. Downpour Interactive itself went through considerable changes in 2023, with widespread layoffs affecting the studio. Moreover, the founder and CEO, Dante Buckley, who launched the studio back in 2015, left the company just a month before these layoffs occurred.

For those who are newer to Onward, the game originally made its debut in Early Access on Steam in 2016, and later arrived in Early Access for the original Oculus Quest in 2020. It prides itself on its realistic squad-based gameplay and highly accurate portrayal of real-world firearms.

Interested in diving deeper into Onward? You can find out more about it on the Horizon Store page for Quest 2 and newer platforms, or on Steam if you’re using a PC VR headset. The game is typically available for $25.