The pirate-themed MMO Atlas has almost arrived, and the full map released for the game is enormous. Studio Wildcard first announced the title at The Game Awards 2018, thrilling audiences with the concept of an MMO that featured pirates. Even more surprising, though, is that the game was set to arrive shortly after its announcement.

Atlas takes inspiration from a previous title by Studio Wildcard, Ark: Survival Evolved. Like Ark: Survival Evolved, Atlas is a sandbox game, but its premise is that it lets players step into the role of pirates to capture islands, build their own ships and fight against other players in huge ocean battles. The game will feature hundreds of islands, just waiting for players to capture and govern them, but most impressively, the game's servers will allow thousands of players to roam the same space at the same time. Atlas only has one PvP and one PvE server available, meaning that the oceans will get crowded, making competition for islands and the seas pretty intense, while also allowing for epic battles between many players at once.

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This kind of gameplay requires a large map, and fortunately, that is precisely what Atlas players will get. PC Gamer just released details about the Atlas map, and it is even bigger than many players might have imagined. However, this map will look a little different once players start laying claim to islands, bases and ships, but regardless, Studio Wildcard promises a world that will take at least 30 hours to sail across, that is if one is sailing in a straight line.

Atlas was initially set to release on Dec. 11, but after a counter on its website sat at zero for a while, the developer announced that it was delayed until Dec. 19. Atlas then got delayed a second time and was pushed to Dec. 21. Studio Wildcard released an extended gameplay trailer, but that video saw more downvotes than upvotes on YouTube from angry gamers.

The developer, though, recently assured fans that the title would officially arrive on Steam early access on Dec. 21. Delays are frequent in the gaming industry, as seen with Insurgency: Sandstorm, but that still doesn't mean players don't get upset by them. It seems, though, that Atlas will finally get its release this week, but until it becomes available for download, players will hold their breaths while anxiously waiting for the title to drop. Here's hoping that Atlas lives up to the hype.

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Source: PC Gamer