Ex-Onward Developers Are Creating A "Spiritual Successor"

Tier One: Direct Action is a spiritual successor to VR tactical shooter Onward, and the Kickstarter campaign is now live.

Developed by Niorun Studios, Tier One: Direct Action is a tactical FPS inspired by ArmA and Rainbow Six Siege. It emphasizes teamwork and realistic VR mechanics by attempting to mirror real-life equipment handling. The game offers a customizable arsenal of weapons, attachments, tools, character customization, destructible environments, and more. Here’s our first look at gameplay.

While the full release promises 10 different game modes for both PvP and PvE, Tier One: Direct Action features three gameplay modes in early access – Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Satcom (Objective Mode). Experience points are earned through missions and engagements, unlocking new skills and items through a progression system.

As promised in its initial reveal, the Kickstarter campaign is now live with a $43,331 goal that ends on August 30. Presently, it’s reached nearly 40% of that funding and the different reward tiers offer early access to the game, exclusive skins and emblems, a digital art book, and more. Stretch goals include an expanded social area at $108k, an accelerated release timeline for early access at $216k, and single-player challenge modes for the full release at $432k.

Niorun Studios states eight former Onward developers are involved in development. We previously contacted the team for additional details to clarify what roles each developer had on Downpour Interactive’s shooter but did not receive a response.

Tier One: Direct Action currently targets an early access release for Q3 2024 on Quest App Lab. Early access ports for PSVR 2, Pico and Steam will follow “between Q1 & Q2 2025,” while the full release is planned for Q3/Q4 2025.