Hunt Showdown Wiki: Overview of 1896
This Hunt Showdown wiki collects the entry points to Crytek's PvPvE extraction shooter set in late 19th century Louisiana: what actually happens in a match, which maps and modes there are and where the differences to classic shooters lie.
⚠️ Status of the information
Checked in August 2026 for the state after Update 2.8 and the running event "Road to Hell". Hunt receives content updates regularly — modes, maps and equipment rules can change.
What sets Hunt: Showdown apart from other shooters
The central difference is that there are no rounds in the usual sense. Anyone who dies loses the hunter along with their equipment permanently — there is no respawn into the same match and no fresh start after thirty seconds. That is exactly where the game draws its tension from: every shot fired gives away your own position, and every encounter can be the last one for that character.
On top of that comes the second layer: alongside the other player teams, AI enemies roam the map and make noise if you approach them the wrong way. Crows, dogs and chains react to movement and give away positions across hundreds of meters. Hunt is therefore a game in which listening matters at least as much as aiming.
Bounty Hunt: the course of a match in four steps
The main mode is called Bounty Hunt and always follows the same structure. Anyone who has understood these four steps understands the game.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Find clues | Clues are made visible and investigated through Dark Sight. After the third clue the minimap marks the boss lair — only for your own team |
| 2. Defeat the boss | The boss sits in a compound with limited entrances. Easy to defend, but just as easy to turn into a trap |
| 3. Banish | Banishing takes around three minutes and is visible to everyone on the map. The team that starts the banishing is fully healed in the process |
| 4. Extract | Head to one of the extraction points at the edge of the map with the bounty token. Extracting costs a few seconds during which you stay vulnerable |
Step 3 is the point where newcomers are surprised most often: as soon as the banishing is running, every other team on the map knows where there is something to grab. For many, the actual match only begins there.
Info box: Dark Sight is not just a search aid
Dark Sight shows clues and interactive objects through walls. If you are carrying a bounty token, a second function is added: enemy hunters within about 150 meters briefly light up as orange silhouettes. Each token provides a boost of roughly five seconds for this — use it sparingly, do not burn it on the first noise.
Maps and modes: what is currently in the game
| Map | Status |
|---|---|
| Stillwater Bayou | ✅ Swampland, the bayou setting that gave it its name |
| Lawson Delta | ✅ Industrial and farm buildings, many open routes |
| DeSalle | ✅ Mixed terrain with mines and differences in elevation |
| Mammon's Gulch | ✅ Drier mountain setting, the most recent of the four maps |
Besides Bounty Hunt there is Bounty Clash — a condensed variant limited to a single compound. There are no supply points there, and it has its own spawn and extraction points. For getting started the mode is useful because it trains the shooting without having to master the complete course of a match.
Equipment after Update 2.8: sizes instead of categories
With Update 2.8 of 9 June 2026, Crytek reworked the inventory system. Since then, weapons carry a size from 1 to 5 instead of the earlier division into small, medium and large. The standard capacity is 5 and can be raised to 6 via the "Quartermaster" trait.
Tools and consumables are no longer tied to fixed slot types and can be mixed freely. Of the same consumable category — throwables, placeables, ammo types, Tarot Cards — a maximum of four copies is allowed. Since then, tool boxes on the map only refill tools, no longer consumables. The details are in the article on the inventory rework in Update 2.8.
Crossplay: consoles yes, PC no
Hunt deliberately separates PC and console. Players on PlayStation and Xbox end up in shared matches, whereas a mixed team of PC and console players is not intended. There is currently no announcement to change that.
What this means in practice
Hunt is not a game you learn on the side, and that is its appeal and its hurdle at the same time. The permanent loss of the hunter makes a won match worth more than in shooters with respawn — but it also makes the first week statistically frustrating. Anyone who expects that gets into it considerably better than someone hoping for quick successes.
For players who are mainly out in the evening and in small groups, a lot speaks for Hunt: a match rarely lasts longer than half an hour, and the pace is slow enough that quick reactions count for less than coordination and patience. Conversely: anyone going up against practiced teams alone has a considerably harder time — the game rewards communication more than individual skill.
Whether the separation of PC and console will hold up in the long run remains open. It keeps the feel of the game consistent, but it shrinks the player base on each platform individually.
Further pages
- Hunt: Showdown 1896 beginner guide — the first matches step by step
- Hunt Showdown Roadmap 2026: the balance after eight months — where the game stands in terms of content
- What is Hunt Showdown and how do you play it? — the assessment from back then
Which map is your favorite — and why? Write it in the comments.