MetalCore Review

MetalCore is a free-to-play mechanized combat game developed by Studio369, a team with roots in the development of Hawken, the popular mech FPS from the early 2010s. Built on Unreal Engine 4 with Immutable X for blockchain integration, MetalCore features large-scale battles where players pilot mechs, drive vehicles, and fight as infantry across open-world maps.

The game entered open beta in early 2024 and represents one of the more technically accomplished web3 games. Where many blockchain games look like mobile games or browser experiments, MetalCore has genuine production quality where the mechs feel heavy and impactful, explosions are satisfying, and the environments are well-crafted.

MetalCore offers multiple combat experiences within a single game:

Mech Combat The headline feature. Players pilot mechs of various classes including light scouts, medium assault units, and heavy siege walkers. Each mech type handles differently, with unique weapon loadouts and abilities. The combat has a satisfying weighty feel that recalls games like MechWarrior and Hawken.

Infantry Combat Players can fight on foot with standard FPS mechanics like assault rifles, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers. Infantry can board and hijack enemy vehicles, adding a tactical layer.

Vehicle Warfare Tanks, APCs, and aircraft provide additional combat options. Vehicle spawning and management add a resource-strategic element to matches.

Game Modes

• Open World PvPvE features large maps with AI enemies, resource nodes, and other players
• Domination is a territory control mode with capture points
• Team Deathmatch offers standard competitive shooter mode
• Extraction is a loot-focused mode where players gather resources and extract safely

The gameplay loop combines shooter action with light resource gathering. Players can collect materials from defeated enemies and resource nodes, which feed into crafting and progression systems. NFT mechs and vehicles provide cosmetic and statistical variations.

MetalCore has not launched a token, so earning is limited to NFT-based activities:

• NFT mech/vehicle trading to buy and sell on the Immutable X marketplace
• In-game loot where collected items may have future NFT trading value
• Tournament prizes from occasional competitive events with small prize pools
• Crafting to combine materials into higher-value items (economy still developing)

NFT mech and vehicle collections from the 2022 sales have seen prices decline significantly. Marketplace activity is thin, with limited liquidity. Without a token economy, there is no passive earning, staking, or yield, so your earning potential depends entirely on the NFT market recovering, which requires significant player growth.

MetalCore has not launched a token as of 2026. The current economic model relies on:

• NFT sales from genesis mech and vehicle collections sold on Ethereum
• Marketplace trading on the secondary market on Immutable X
• In-game economy with resources and crafting (not yet tokenized)
• Future token plans where the team has hinted at a potential token but has not committed to a timeline

The lack of a token is increasingly conspicuous. Most web3 games of MetalCore's ambition have either launched a token or have clear tokenomics plans. This uncertainty creates hesitation among both players and investors about the long-term economic model.

Studio369 is led by developers who previously worked on Hawken, the mech shooter that launched in 2012 and was praised for its visuals and gameplay before eventually shutting down. The Hawken experience is evident in MetalCore's combat design, and the team clearly understands how to make mechs feel powerful and fun.

The studio has received support from Immutable through their gaming ecosystem grants and partnerships. Additional funding details have not been widely disclosed, which raises questions about the project's financial runway. Running dedicated game servers for an open-world shooter is expensive, and without a clear revenue model (no token, declining NFT sales, no subscription), sustainability is a legitimate concern.

What went right: The gameplay is the star here. MetalCore's mech combat genuinely feels good because the weapons have impact, the mechs have weight, and the destruction is satisfying. The visual quality stands out in a web3 gaming space littered with low-effort projects. The free-to-play model removes the barrier to entry. The Hawken heritage means the team knows how to build a compelling shooter, and it shows.

What went wrong: The web3 integration feels like an afterthought rather than a value-add. Putting mechs on the blockchain does not fundamentally improve the experience of piloting them. The lack of a token means MetalCore cannot leverage crypto-economic incentives that draw players to other web3 games. Low player counts create the worst possible situation for a multiplayer shooter: empty servers and long matchmaking queues. The game is also competing in one of the most saturated genres in gaming; free-to-play shooters like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Warzone have enormous player bases and content pipelines that a small studio cannot match. MetalCore needs a clear answer to the question "why should I play this instead of [mainstream shooter]?" and right now, the blockchain angle alone is not a compelling enough answer.