Global Agenda
A class-based spy-fi shooter with jetpacks and no randomness.
Global Agenda is a class-based online team shooter developed by Hi-Rez Studios using Unreal Engine 3. It was the studio's first project, begun in 2005, and went live on February 1, 2010. The game was re-released as free-to-play in April 2011, had its servers shut down in 2018, and reopened in 2022.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Hi-Rez Studios
- Designer
- Scott Zier
- Programmer
- Chris Larson; John Dew
- Artist
- Bret Kroll
- Charles Vinson
- Daniel Lilleberg
- Writer
- Nathan Knaack
- Composer
- Chris Rickwood
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- Released
- February 1, 2010
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Global Agenda uses a third-person camera view, though some weapons allow scoping in first-person via a mouse action. Characters are equipped with jetpacks and a variety of weapon types, including melee. Player appearance is highly customizable through achievement-based flair items, and almost all items can be recolored with dyes. The game's lore and gameplay center on Dome City, an open-world lobby where players can explore and shop; boosted players can use their jetpacks there, but weapons and skills are disabled. Most gameplay occurs in mercenary matches (PvP) or instances (PvE). Two playable open-world zones exist: the Sonoran Desert and North Sonora. Agency vs Agency (AvA) is the guild-centric competitive mode. Four classes are available: Assault, Recon, Medic, and Robotics, each with customizable skill trees and unique weapons. Players can reset their skills at no cost while in Dome City, meaning a player needs four characters to access every specialization of every class. The game includes almost no randomness: the same hit from the same weapon under the same circumstances always deals the same damage. Fast-firing weapons minimize the impact of random bullet trajectory, and there are no critical hits or headshots, even with sniper rifles. For casual play, the Mercenary queue creates two 10-player, skill-balanced teams based on each player's star rating. Supported modes include Breach, where one team defends three successive points while the other attacks; Scramble, where a control point appears randomly after each capture and three captures win; and Control, where three simultaneous control points award match points to the team holding the majority.
Plot
Global Agenda blends science fiction with a secret agent backdrop, a genre the developers call spy-fi. The game is set in 2155 after a severe global disaster. An Orwellian government called the Commonwealth rules Earth with an army of artificially intelligent drones. The population is under one billion, and habitable land is scarce. Advanced technology can cleanse limited regions, leading to intense competition for colonization and control of regional technology. The Recursive Colony update introduced a threat of self-replicating machines called Recursives. Players investigate a massing of Recursive forces in the North Sonoran desert, leading to hourly raids on Dome City. The final mission allows any number of players to attempt destroying four objectives simultaneously, disrupting the Recursive colony and temporarily ending the threat. Hi-Rez released fiction establishing the backstory and a timeline of events before the game begins, divided into Pre-Commonwealth and Post-Commonwealth eras.
Development and release
Pricing for the North American version was announced on October 20, 2009, reflecting the game's hybrid nature as a multiplayer hub-based shooter and a persistent-world MMO. An optional subscription package called Global Agenda: Conquest was initially planned. On June 25, 2010, the game went subscription-free, making all previously subscription content available to purchasers; trial accounts remained limited. On April 7, 2011, Hi-Rez announced that the upcoming update would make the game free-to-play.
Sequel
On October 2, 2012, Hi-Rez announced development of Global Agenda 2, which would focus more on PvP and use many assets from the original, adding maps, game modes, and class weapons on a new platform. Beta testing was expected in mid-2013. Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris stated that Global Agenda 2 would have no open-world elements, hex-maps, or facility building, and that players of the original and other Hi-Rez games would get priority beta access. In July 2013, Harris said the studio would focus on Smite for six months before returning to Global Agenda 2. Leaks in September 2014 revealed the game was provisionally called Global Assault, would drop the class system for modifiable characters, and later became a new franchise known as Paladins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What platforms is Global Agenda available on?
Global Agenda was released for Microsoft Windows.
Who designed Global Agenda?
Global Agenda was designed by Scott Zier.
Who composed the music for Global Agenda?
The music for Global Agenda was composed by Chris Rickwood.
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