Fate Trigger is “hyper-tactical” – Lead planner Terry Liao on anime crossovers and esports future

Fate Trigger is an upcoming first-person shooter with a visual focus on anime art and an expansive list of heroes to play. Beta testing has already begun, with early access announced to begin in Q1 of 2026.

Esports Insider had the opportunity to ask the lead planner for Fate Trigger, Terry Liao, about its development. Here’s what the dev team wants you to know about their fresh take on the FPS genre.

The truly special thing about Fate Trigger is its anime art style, which has helped it attract a larger audience since other first-person shooters usually stick to realism. Audiences around the world love anime, so Liao shared a bit about Fate Trigger’s distinct theme:

“The market is saturated with realistic or American cartoon-style shooters, but there are very few in the Asian anime style. As a gamer myself, I’ve always loved both shooting games and anime since I was a child, but I never found a game that combined the two in a way that was both visually appealing and fun to play. We believe that there are many players like me all over the world who are waiting for a game like Fate Trigger.”

In addition to the anime-like graphics, Liao told us that Fate Trigger will likely host crossovers with popular anime franchises, indicating that their game could go down the route of Fortnite in the future.

“We are very interested in collaborating with franchises. There are so many fantastic games, anime, and movies out there, and we are actively reaching out to explore potential partnerships. I can share that we’ve already had some early discussions with some franchises. We look forward to finalising these collaborations and, in due time, will share some official updates, but we can’t reveal any specific details just yet.”

Between animated titans like Dragon Ball Z and One Piece, there’s no telling where the future will take Fate Trigger’s crossover events. Plus, collaborating with popular manga and anime will help spread awareness of Fate Trigger to a wider audience of FPS gamers.

Creating a video game is hard, especially when balancing for online play. Liao explained that though they’ve been very enthusiastic about the feedback received so far, the team is always looking for new ways to polish Fate Trigger before its early access release in 2026.

“We’ve been excited by the first impressions and massive enthusiasm our users have had so far. This has strengthened our conviction in our overall development direction. However, this doesn’t mean we believe the game is perfect; there’s still a lot of work we’re doing in fine-tuning and polishing the game, as you’ve seen between the Closed Alpha and Closed Beta Tests,” said Liao.

When asked about how he’d change Fate Trigger if they were to redesign it from the ground up, Liao told us that if he were to do it all again, performance would be a top focus.

“Looking back at the challenges we’ve faced, if we could go back to the very beginning, we would prioritise “performance” much earlier in further optimising for UE5.”

Optimising for Unreal Engine 5 can be a challenge, but the Fate Trigger devs have worked hard to ensure that it runs as well as possible, and player feedback has been a huge factor during development.

Among the feedback they’ve received, Liao told us that there’s been a debate throughout the Fate Trigger community about the time it takes to defeat an enemy, also known as time-to-kill (TTK). With player experiences in mind, the development team has been able to consider adjustments that will create a balanced TTK.

“We’ve also seen a lot of community discussion around Time-to-Kill (TTK), with players debating the merits of a shorter versus a longer TTK,” Liao explained.

The Fate Trigger team appreciates the helpful feedback, as it’s allowed them to further optimise competitive balancing and performance. The devs are also listening to feedback regarding what players want to see in Fate Trigger, so your input could directly affect how the game evolves.

“This feedback has been incredibly helpful. Our plan for upcoming versions is to first optimise performance, then continue to fine-tune the gameplay based on player input, and finally, add new content that meets player expectations,” Liao told Esports Insider.

Fate Trigger has multiple modes and a roster of powerful characters, so community input is an essential step in developing a balanced battlefield in the anime FPS.

Esports is taking off in 2025, so we asked Liao if he was hopeful for the competitive future of Fate Trigger. Not only is the team excited to jump into the esports world, but they also plan to directly support the competitive scene through official tournaments, if it’s feasible.

“We are already in the process of building a dedicated esports team. At this stage, we have tested some professional-level tournaments. Our primary goal is to validate the feasibility of esports for this game and to gather feedback from both players and competitors. This allows us to fine-tune the pace of matches, the competition format, and the overall spectator experience,” Liao told us.

However, Liao also explained that the esports scene will be built through fan feedback and evolve alongside the community. Fate Trigger is still very new, so it may take a few years before its tournaments can reach the scale of games like Fortnite or Apex Legends.

“While our future esports plans are still in progress, I can share our main direction: we will focus on the player and viewer experience. By creating an engaging and entertaining grassroots esports ecosystem, we want to establish a solid foundation first. Once that foundation is secure, we will then expand the scale of our tournaments. So, our overall approach remains ‘taking a steady, solid approach, one step at a time’.”

If Fate Trigger can grow its community, then its esports scene could be massive, but viewership is king in the end. As Liao told us, “The key to a successful esport game and ecosystem is whether players would want to watch and participate.”

Beginning your journey in Fate Trigger can be daunting, especially if you’re new to first-person shooters. Liao shared a slice of advice for new players, putting an emphasis on strategic planning:

“My biggest piece of advice is: Don’t run out in the open. Instead, make good use of the map’s cover, buildings, and vehicles. In the early game, don’t get greedy for kills; first, focus on getting familiar with your character’s skills and the feel of your weapons, and always stick with your teammates.”

Fate Trigger is a competitive FPS, so you’ll need to make use of the high ground and save your abilities for the right time in order to come out on top.

“Remember, strategy is incredibly important in Fate Trigger. By choosing the right position and timing your skills, you have a chance to defeat opponents who are much stronger than you.”

If the interview has piqued your interest in Fate Trigger but you haven’t yet played it, we’ve got you covered. Liao described Fate Trigger in three phrases: hero shooter, hyper-tactical, and animate, representing Fate Trigger’s focus on vibrant visuals and competitive gameplay.

Fate Trigger has multiple modes, including a battle royale, and its colourful cast of heroes should offer something for every player. Early access begins next year, so get ready to jump into a brand-new anime universe in 2026.