2K Games is wading into dangerous waters and announcing a free-to-play superhero shooter

2K and 31st developer Union has just launched Project: Ethosa free-to-play third-person hero shooter. It’s entering a crowded and crowded marketplace, but the publisher says this is an “exciting evolution” for the genre.

That evolution seems to take the form of simple rogue-like mechanics. Playable characters change throughout each game, with unique random upgrades for each hero. The publisher gives the example of turning a sniper into a “close-up athlete” or a “support role into a powerful lone wolf.”

“Skills, stakes and challenges” change from game to game and players can eventually unlock powerful Augments to enhance the run. It remains to be seen if these devices can separate themselves from the pack, but you can find out for yourself. There is a social play test.

Players can check out the game’s signature trial mode, which is “continuous, continuous combat” or test the Gauntlet. This is your standard head-to-head tournament mode, with teams and brackets.

This public play test runs until October 20 in the US, Canada, Mexico and most of Europe. There is an annoying hurdle to jump to get to the original build. You must complete a Twitch Drop and stream 30 minutes of content from . There is no information yet on the actual release date for people who don’t want to sit through the 30-minute stream.