Gigantic
Gigantic is a colorful 3D MOBA that blends a third-person camera with skill-shot focused combat. Instead of relying on point-and-click abilities, most actions require manual aiming, giving matches a more action game feel than a traditional top-down MOBA.
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Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment Playerbase: Medium Type: MOBA Release Date: December 8, 2016 Shut Down Date: July 31, 2018 Pros: +Striking, stylized visuals. +Fresh objective-driven MOBA formula. +Over 16 heroes with distinct kits Cons: -Matchmaking could create heavily lopsided matches. |
Gigantic Overview
Gigantic is a third-person, cartoony MOBA that sits in the same general space as games like Smite, but it has its own identity thanks to how the map objectives and win condition are framed. Rather than simply pushing lanes toward a static base, teams fight for control points and battlefield advantages that build toward the main goal, taking down the enemy Guardian. That Guardian is not just a structure at the end of the map, it is an active presence that joins fights and helps shape the flow of each match.
Moment to moment, Gigantic plays like a brawler-shooter hybrid. Landing abilities matters, positioning is critical, and team fights tend to be messy in a fun way because verticality and mobility are big parts of the map design. The overall presentation is bright and characterful, with a western cartoon vibe that can feel like a stylistic midpoint between Strife’s fantasy look and the bold readability of Team Fortress 2.
Gigantic ultimately shut down on July 31, 2018, after it could not sustain a large enough audience to keep matchmaking healthy long term.
Gigantic Key Features:
- Skill-Based, Third-Person Combat – abilities are aimed manually, rewarding accuracy and good timing. Victory comes from defeating the opposing Guardian.
- Over Sixteen Playable Heroes – each hero comes with five core actions (left click, right click, plus three additional abilities) that define their role and playstyle.
- Tactical Use of Guardians and Summoned Creatures – creatures contribute more than basic damage, and choosing what to bring onto the field, and when, is a key layer of strategy.
- Objective-Focused Map Flow – maps are built around capturing and controlling key areas rather than standard lane pressure alone.
- Guardians as Active Combatants – the central objective also participates in battle, making the endgame feel more like a climax than a routine base kill.
Gigantic Screenshots
Gigantic Featured Video
Gigantic Review
Gigantic is best remembered for how confidently it blended MOBA structure with action-heavy combat. In practice, it feels less like a traditional lane-focused strategy game and more like a team-based arena brawler where objectives constantly pull squads into skirmishes. When the teams are even, the game’s pacing is excellent, fights build naturally from small duels into full team clashes, and the Guardian-centric win condition gives the match a clear arc.
The biggest strength is how readable and responsive the combat is. Because abilities must be aimed, good players can make a noticeable impact through mechanics, not just build choices. Heroes also tend to have strong silhouettes and clear roles, so it is easier to understand what is happening during chaotic engagements than in many ability-heavy competitors.
Where Gigantic could stumble was consistency from match to match. With a medium-sized playerbase for much of its life, matchmaking could sometimes create uneven games, which is especially noticeable in a title where coordination and positioning matter so much. In those scenarios, the match can feel decided early, and the losing team spends more time reacting than executing a plan.
Even with that drawback, Gigantic’s core ideas were distinctive. The creature-summoning layer adds meaningful decisions beyond pure fighting, and the Guardian involvement makes the objective feel alive rather than abstract. For players who enjoy MOBAs but prefer direct control, aiming, and third-person movement over top-down clicking, Gigantic offered a genuinely different flavor while it was online.
Gigantic System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Or Windows 7
CPU: 2.6GHz Processor
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580
RAM: 6 GB
Hard Disk Space: 10 GB
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Or Windows 7
CPU: 3.2GHz Processor
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580
RAM: 8 GB
Hard Disk Space: 10 GB
Gigantic Music & Soundtrack
Gigantic Additional Information
Developer: Motiga
Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment
Other Platforms: Xbox One
Lead Designer: James Phinney
Game Engine: Unreal Engine
Closed Beta Date: August, 2015
Open Beta Date: December 8, 2016
Shut Down Date: July 31, 2018
Development History / Background:
Gigantic was created by Motiga, an American studio based in Bellevue, Washington. Work on the project traces back to the studio’s earliest days after it opened in August 2010, although the team did not fully commit to Gigantic as its primary focus until 2012. The public announcement arrived on July 14, 2014, after more than two years of development, with James Phinney serving as lead designer (notably known for his lead design work on both Starcraft and Guild Wars).
Testing began with an alpha on September 10, 2014, and the official trailer was shown at PAX Prime. Early plans positioned Gigantic for Windows 10 and Xbox One, and Motiga initially partnered with Microsoft for publishing on Windows 10. That partnership meant PC players needed Windows 10 to play, which was positioned as a manageable hurdle since Windows 10 upgrades were available at no cost for many users during that period.
In May 2016, Perfect World Entertainment revealed a publishing agreement with Motiga. This shift ended the Windows 10 and Xbox One exclusivity arrangement and brought Gigantic to Perfect World’s Arc client as well as a standalone launcher. As part of the new publishing setup, the game became available on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.
Gigantic shut down on July 31, 2018, after it was unable to build and retain a sufficiently large playerbase.