After a demo that built serious momentum, Pioner has now entered early access on Steam on December 16, and the hype behind it is hard to miss. More than half a million players had the STALKER-style open-world MMO sitting on their wishlist, ready to jump in the moment it became available.

December is usually a quieter month for major releases – more of a window for smaller projects to make themselves seen while the calendar is relatively open. But the second week of the final month of 2025 has brought a surprise: Pioner, one of Steam’s most anticipated shooters, is out today, backed by a loyal audience measured in the hundreds of thousands.

Set in the isolated Tartarus archipelago, Pioner drops players into a devastated world filled with ruined military facilities, bunker-like laboratories tied to strange experiments, and unexplained phenomena that make the comparison to STALKER hard to avoid. From the atmosphere to the visual style, it leans into familiar cues: rusty radar stations, bleak skies, and a landscape where mutant creatures and anomalies can show up around any corner.

Pioner Offers Missions, Open-World Play, and PvE or PvP

Still, Pioner is not just about roaming an open map. The game also comes with a broad selection of quests and activities. Players follow the trail of a mysterious catastrophe that struck the islands, all while dealing with hostile factions such as soldiers loyal to self-proclaimed military leaders, bandits, and cultists.

Some mission choices will directly influence how the story unfolds, giving players meaningful control over the events happening around them. With more than 50 main quests and hundreds of smaller quests and events, Pioner also emphasizes its PvE side, whether you prefer fighting AI-controlled human enemies, taking on mutant monsters, or exploring the wasteland with maximum caution.

At the same time, the experience is designed to shine in groups, with team play positioned as a core pillar that can deepen the feel of this hostile post-apocalyptic setting.

With that mix of ideas, Russian studio GFA Games is arriving to an intensely anticipated Steam launch, with over 500,000 wishlists behind it. And while the early access premiere is happening today, December 16, the game already ran a beta phase last November that was received so well it ended up being extended at the start of December.

Source: 3djuegos