The Flock is a little more complicated than the above headline would suggest, but nonetheless it's a unique-sounding experience that we're interested to see firsthand. When the game launches in Q3 of this year, it will be available for a limited time, depending on how quickly players die in the game.
Developers Vogelsap have explained how every time a player dies and a life is spent, the game population will dwindle accordingly, and when it hits zero, the game will no longer be purchasable. Once that happens there'll be a climactic event for existing players, and once that's done, the game will go offline.
We first came across the experimental title last year, but we have to admit we're much more intrigued now we know how it's going to work. In the game players will be hunting for the "Light Artefact" and when they find it they'll be hunted by the rest of the players in the game, although the carrier can kill their pursuers by shining light on them.
"A multiplayer game can take players to incredible heights, but at some point gamers will start to play less, get disinterested and stop playing altogether," said Vogelsap's Jeroen Van Hasselt. "In opposition to other multiplayer games, we want The Flock's experience to inspire a sense of awe, to keep players eagerly anticipating what is coming next and to end with a memorable climax."
Obviously it's hard to predict how long The Flock will stay online, and even whether people will even be interested in picking up a game that carries a finite lifespan. It's coming in Q3 of this year, so there's not long left before we'll find out.