Assault Ops

Assault Ops
Developer(s)	SOI Studios Xbox Game Studios
Publisher(s)	Monsteristic Xbox Game Studios
Series	ShooterofIO
Engine	Unreal Engine 5
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
Release	November 17, 2024
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Assault Ops is a 2024 first-person shooter game developed by SOI Studios and Xbox Game Studios and published by Monsteristic and Xbox Game Studios. Assault Ops is free-to-play on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game was released on November 17, 2024 and is available on the Xbox Games Pass.

Assault Ops boasts the longest production cycle of any game developed by SOI Studios, spanning four years of development; whilst some SOI Studios employees stated they have been play-testing the game since 2020. Marketing for the game began in December 2023 with simple teasers commonly using the words "Operation" and "Assault". The title of the game was revealed in May 2024 alongside the release date. A full reveal trailer released in June 2024.

Gameplay

Assault Ops is a story-driven first-person shooter video game. The game includes two destinct modes in Campaign and Multiplayer; the campaign mode being the story mode where players play through specially designed missions to tell one story of the game, while the Multiplayer mode is designed with fast-paced action in mind with 4v4 online matches played.

The game's campaign mode features unique gameplay similarly found in ShooterofIO: Modern Ops II (2022), which was also developed by SOI Studios. There are four categories in Assault Ops and within each category is five playable missions. Gameplay of the Assault Ops campaign includes players crafting items, raiding palaces, and doing tactical steps of a multiple-ending staged type objective (including hidden easter eggs within each mission). The game's campaign will also include a "Theatre Mode", which will allow players to play cutscenes from completed missions. SOI Studios have confirmed the mode will include more than two hours of cutscenes.

Assault Ops's multiplayer mode is much more compact and controlled than the campaign mode. Players are able to create a loadout known as a "Soldier Kit" and will have the option of picking one weapon, one perk, and one ability. Abilities are special powers that players can use to gain a upperhand in different synergies. At launch, the game features 9 playable "Core" maps and 7 "War" maps. Core maps are designed with the three lane layout. "War" maps are designed with more open combat in mind. The multiplayer mode features three modes being Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch (free-for-all), and Capture the Flag.

Assault Ops introduced a Black Market into the game alongside the first seasonal update, which introduced Supply Drops—which were earnable in three tiers—"Basic", "Rare", and "Ultra". In Season 1, the game introduced a freemium currency "Scraps", which is both earnable free and able to be purchased through microtransactions , however Supply Drops cannot be purchased using anything other than Scraps. During Season 2, released seven weeks after the first season, a new "Contract" system was introduced.

Campaign

Settings and characters

The campaign mode is set in the 1960s, during the midst of the Cold War.

Development

SOI Studios had already created seven ShooterofIO games by the time they decided to move onto making different first-person shooter games in 2026. Development on Assault Ops began in January 2027 and went on until launch in November 2030. The team didn't want to change too many aspects of their games they make as they felt comfortable in what they do, though chose to use the Unreal Engine 5 for the game to help improve the game's arcade focused style.

By December 2027, the game was in the "Alpha" stage which had been leaked to the public; with SOI Studios confirming the game is playable but is not being released anytime soon. By early-to-mid 2027, SOI Studios were told to turn the game into a ShooterofIO: Modern Warfare sequel from Monsteristic, however Microsoft told them to focus on Assault Ops. Monsteristic filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for the attempt to overrule them in the company they "own". By March 2028, the case was settled and Microsoft acquiring all the studios including Supreme Studios and Epic Vision Studios, who are known to work under Monsteristic. As a result of losing the lawsuit, Monsteristic lost the rights to the ShooterofIO franchise, to which, Microsoft purchased them within the first hour.

The studio leader pubically stated in a interview that they believe Monsteristic filed a lawsuit against them and Microsoft to force them to give up their upcoming game, knowing it will be a "threat to their franchise". However, Microsoft pubically noted they do not intend on ending the mentioned franchise in anyway and just want to focus their efforts with SOI Studios to make a great game.

The studio originally developed the game using the SOI 8.0 engine with heavy modifications, however following the Monsteristic vs. Microsoft lawsuit, SOI Studios began using the Unreal Engine 5 as the engine for the game. The team noted that the change of engine forced them to reconsider the amount of content they had planned in order to learn how to use the engine and still have the quality they want in the game. By September 2028, SOI Studios had announced the game is planned to release in 2030.

Better quality development

According to SOI Studios, the Assault Ops series will only consist of a "handful" of games, and later confirmed four more planned for release every three years starting in 2033. They confirmed all modes available in Assault Ops will be available in the other new games alongside new innovative features.

Marketing

It was revealed in December 2028 that SOI Studios would release their first game outside of the ShooterofIO series in 2030 and marketing would be much more because of the longer development time. In December 2029, SOI Studios released seven encrypted photos through a website titled "SOI's Wonderland.com". Each image was released once a week until February 2030. By April 2030, the community discovered two common words being Assault and Operations.

Future

Assault Ops was developed without a sequel in mind, though SOI Studios confirmed there would be four more Assault Ops games coming in the future with the second game planned for 2033, third planned for 2036, fourth planned for 2039 and the fifth planned for 2044.