The wait was honestly agonizing. If you followed the development of Nexon’s looter-shooter, you know exactly what I’m talking about. After years of trailers that looked almost too good to be true, The First Descendant release date finally hit on July 2, 2024. It wasn't just another Tuesday. For many of us who had been grinding through the various beta tests, it felt like the end of a long, sometimes bumpy road.
People were skeptical. Very skeptical. When you see a game built on Unreal Engine 5 with that level of visual fidelity, the immediate thought is "there’s no way this runs well." Nexon had a lot to prove. They weren't just launching a game; they were trying to plant a flag in a genre dominated by titans like Destiny 2 and Warframe.
It’s weird to think back on the timeline now. The journey started way back with a teaser for "Project Magnum." Remember that? It felt like a lifetime ago. Then came the rebranding, the technical tests, and the final push.
The Long Road to July 2nd
The game didn't just appear out of thin air. We saw a major Crossplay Open Beta in September 2023 that basically served as the make-or-break moment for the devs. They gathered a ton of data. Players complained about the movement feeling "floaty" and the grappling hook being a bit clunky. Nexon actually listened, which—let's be real—isn't always a given in the AAA space.
They pushed the game back. They refined the "Descendants"—the unique characters you play as—and polished the world of Ingris. By the time the Summer Game Fest 2024 trailer rolled around, the hype was back at a fever pitch. That trailer confirmed the July 2nd date, and the countdown truly began.
What happened on launch day?
Total chaos. But the good kind?
Mostly. The servers were slammed. Within minutes of the global launch, hundreds of thousands of players tried to squeeze through the digital front door at once. It was available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The cross-play functionality was a huge selling point, but it also added layers of technical complexity that led to some initial hiccups with rewards and "Caliber" (the premium currency) not showing up immediately.
Nexon’s Director, Minseok Joo, and the team were surprisingly transparent during the first 48 hours. They acknowledged the lag. They admitted the server issues. It wasn’t perfect, but it was live.
Why the Release Date Mattered for the Looter-Shooter Genre
Timing is everything in gaming. If The First Descendant had launched a month earlier, it might have been swallowed by the massive Destiny 2: The Final Shape expansion. If it had launched later in the fall, it would have been buried under the annual Call of Duty hype train. July was the sweet spot.
The game filled a specific void. It offered high-end, "next-gen" graphics that Warframe (despite its brilliance) can’t quite match because of its older engine, and it provided a third-person perspective that offered a fresh break from the first-person fatigue some Destiny players were feeling.
The Unreal Engine 5 Factor
Let’s talk about the tech. Launching on July 2, 2024, meant this was one of the first major free-to-play titles to really leverage Unreal Engine 5.2. We’re talking about:
- Nanite virtualized geometry that makes environments look incredibly dense.
- Lumen global illumination for lighting that actually reacts to the world.
- Heavy use of NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and Frame Generation to keep those frame rates high on PC.
Honestly, the game looks ridiculous. Even on the PS5 and Series X Performance modes, the particle effects when Bunny (the resident speedster) zips through a crowd of Vulgus enemies are genuinely impressive. It’s visual sugar.
Addressing the "Pay-to-Win" Elephant in the Room
You can't talk about the launch without talking about the monetization. This was the biggest point of contention on the The First Descendant release date. Players jumped in and immediately saw the "Ultimate" versions of characters like Ajax and Viessa.
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The price tags were high.
Some "Ultimate" bundles cost upwards of $60 to $100. People freaked out. However, as the community spent more time with the game, the nuance became clearer. You can grind for every single Descendant in the game without spending a dime. It just takes time. A lot of time.
The drop rates for certain blueprints—looking at you, 3% and 6% drops—are brutal. It’s a "pay to skip" model rather than "pay to win," because most of the power comes from your Module setup, which requires a heavy time investment regardless of how much cash you drop.
Evolution Since Launch: Beyond the Initial Date
A game like this isn't a static product. Since July, Nexon has moved into a seasonal model. Season 1, titled "Invasion," arrived in late August 2024, bringing Hailey and new mechanics.
The development team has been weirdly fast with patches. They fixed the "void fragment" grind loop because players found it boring. They added a "junk" filter for inventory management. They even tweaked the controversial "gold" and "Kyper" shard farm rates. It shows that the release date was just the starting line, not the finish line.
Surviving the Comparison
People love to compare this to Outriders or Anthem. Anthem is the cautionary tale every developer fears. But The First Descendant avoided the Anthem trap by having a functional endgame loop right out of the gate. Void Intercept Battles (colossus fights) provide a genuine challenge that requires actual team coordination, especially when you get to the Hard Mode versions of bosses like the Gluttony or Frost Walker.
Common Misconceptions About the Launch
I see this all the time on Reddit and Discord: "The game was in development for 10 years."
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Nope.
While Nexon has been around forever, The First Descendant (Project Magnum) was first teased in 2021. It had a relatively fast development cycle for a game of this scale. Another myth is that it’s a "mobile port." It absolutely is not. The game was built from the ground up for high-end consoles and PC, which is why your GPU probably screams when you turn the settings to Ultra.
Some players also thought the release date would include a trading system. It didn't. As of now, player-to-player trading is still one of those "we're looking into it" features. Nexon has to be careful with that one to avoid wrecking their own economy, so they're playing it safe.
Actionable Steps for New and Returning Players
If you're just jumping in now, long after the initial hype of the The First Descendant release date, or if you're coming back after a break, here is the most efficient way to spend your time:
- Don't buy Descendants early. Play through the main story first. The game gives you enough materials to craft a few basics, and Bunny is practically handed to you in the first few hours.
- Focus on Modules, not just weapons. Your weapon's DPS is important, but your "Action and Reaction" or "Rifling Reinforcement" modules are where the real power lies. Max those out first.
- Use the "Access Info" tab. This is the most underrated tool in the game. It tells you exactly where every single item, blueprint, and material drops. No need to Google it every five minutes.
- Join the official Discord. Because the game is cross-play, finding a group for Hard Mode bosses is way easier if you use the LFG (Looking For Group) channels rather than relying on random matchmaking, which can be... frustrating.
- Farm for "Ultimate" weapons first. Before you go for "Ultimate" characters, grab the "Thunder Cage" SMG. It’s one of the best mob-clearing weapons in the game and relatively easy to farm.
The First Descendant isn't a perfect game, but it’s a committed one. The developers seem genuinely invested in keeping the lights on and the community happy. Whether you’re here for the "waifu" skins or the complex mathematical optimization of damage numbers, there’s a lot of game here to chew on.
Go out there, Descendant. Ingris isn't going to save itself.