Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020): Full Game Overview

By Janno Vares, Founder & Editor
June 17, 2026

Predator: Hunting Grounds is an asymmetric multiplayer action game developed by IllFonic and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4 and PC. Released in April 2020, it pits one customizable Yautja hunter against a four-player fireteam completing objectives in dense jungle environments. The concept mirrors the stalk-and-ambush fantasy of Predator (1987), with the fireteam relying on teamwork, motion tracking, and heavy weapons while the Predator uses cloaking, vision modes, and the full Yautja arsenal to isolate and eliminate prey. Although the game launched with limited content, it became one of the most important modern entries in Predator lore, introducing dozens of new hunters, female Yautja, historical-inspired variants, and a continued story involving Dutch Schaefer.

Game Overview

Predator: Hunting Grounds is built entirely around online multiplayer. Each match places four human players in a private military-style fireteam while a fifth player controls the Predator. The fireteam must complete a chain of mission objectives such as collecting intel, destroying equipment, calling in evacuations, or surviving until extraction, all while the Predator stalks them from the treeline. If the Predator wipes the squad before time runs out, the hunt is won. If the fireteam finishes its objectives and escapes, the humans prevail.

The game emphasizes atmosphere over pure action. Fireteam players spend much of each match listening for the Predator's distinctive vocal clicks, watching motion trackers for movement, and coordinating revives under pressure. The Predator side focuses on positioning, ambushes, trophy kills, and managing energy for cloaking and gear. Progression systems on both sides unlock new weapons, perks, cosmetics, and class variants as players level up.

Story And Lore

Unlike earlier Predator games with full campaigns, Hunting Grounds told its story through lore tapes, mission briefings, and post-match dialogue rather than a single-player mode. These recordings established that Yautja clans continued to visit Earth for ritual hunts, targeting armed human groups that provided worthy prey. The fireteams were presented as private military contractors operating in remote jungle zones where Predator activity had been detected.

The game's most significant lore contribution was its expansion of the modern Predator timeline. Audio logs and updates followed an older Dutch Schaefer, voiced through archival material from Arnold Schwarzenegger, as he tracked Yautja patterns and prepared for a renewed human response to the hunters. The story also connected to Predators (2010), revealing that Isabelle eventually returned to Earth aboard a Predator vessel after surviving the Game Preserve Planet hunt, while Royce's fate remained unknown. Later updates placed Dutch's full return to active Predator hunting around 2025, after experimental treatment mixing his DNA with Yautja biology extended his life and reflexes.

Beyond the main narrative threads, Hunting Grounds became a platform for introducing new Yautja clans, outcasts, and historical hunters. The Predator: Hunting Grounds Predators category on AvP Central covers many of these profiles in detail, including the Valkyrie Predator, Emissary Predator, Bionic Predator, Viking Predator, Samurai Predator, and Alpha Predator.

Fireteam Classes

Each fireteam member selects one of four classes, each with distinct loadouts and support abilities.

Assault - Balanced frontline soldier with solid health, stamina, and gear capacity, plus bonuses to hip-fire accuracy and revive speed.
Recon - Spotter and marksman with enhanced tracking tools, longer spot duration, and high movement speed for locating the Predator early.
Support - Heavy tank class with the highest health and gear capacity, slower movement, and strong resistance to explosive damage.
Scout - Agile skirmisher built for high mobility and fast repositioning rather than sustained firefights.

Team composition mattered because no single class could reliably counter a skilled Predator alone. Recon helped locate cloaked movement, Support absorbed pressure during ambushes, Scout flanked and escaped pursuit, and Assault provided the raw firepower needed once the hunter was exposed.

Predator Classes

Hunting Grounds used the word "class" in two ways. At launch, every player chose from three base Predator classes that defined core stats such as health, stamina, movement speed, and gear capacity. IllFonic later added dozens of premium Predator classes through DLC. These were not mere cosmetic skins: each premium class came with its own stat spread, default loadout options, and often exclusive weapons tied to hunters such as the Samurai Predator or City Hunter.

The three base classes unlocked through account progression were:

Hunter - Balanced default class available from the start, with even health, stamina, speed, and gear.
Scout - Faster, lighter hunter unlocked at higher levels, trading health and gear for maximum stamina and movement speed.
Berserker - Heavy melee-focused class unlocked late, built for close-range aggression with high health and gear at the cost of speed.

Premium Predator classes expanded the roster far beyond those three archetypes. Movie-inspired hunters included the Jungle Hunter, City Hunter, Scar Predator, Celtic Predator, Chopper Predator, Falconer Predator, Wolf Predator, and Fugitive Predator. Original and historical premium classes added hunters such as the Samurai Predator, Viking Predator, Valkyrie Predator, Cleopatra Predator, Emissary Predator, Exiled Predator, Bionic Predator, and Amazon Predator. Many of these are covered in the Predator: Hunting Grounds Predators category.

Higher-level progression also unlocked additional gear, trophy slots, and cosmetic options that let players further customize whichever class they selected. Any Predator class could carry combinations of wristblades, combisticks, smart discs, the plasma caster, mines, and traps depending on loadout choices.

Maps, Modes, And Progression

At launch, Hunting Grounds shipped with a small set of jungle-focused maps inspired by the Central American setting of the original film. Missions reused these environments with different objective layouts, which became one of the game's most common criticisms. Fans hoped for urban maps similar to Predator 2 or off-world locations like the Game Preserve Planet from Predators, but the base release remained firmly rooted in tropical terrain.

The main mode is Quick Play, where randomly matched players compete in standard hunt scenarios. Private matches allow friends to fill both sides without matchmaking. A tutorial mission introduces Predator movement, cloaking, and trophy mechanics aboard a brief arrival sequence featuring a Yautja drop ship. Long-term progression is driven by challenge lists, daily tasks, and level unlocks for both fireteam and Predator sides.

Our gameplay clip below shows the Predator tutorial level, which introduces movement, cloaking, vision, leaping, and trophy mechanics before players enter full multiplayer hunts.

DLC Hunters And Customization

Hunting Grounds became especially notable for its extensive downloadable content. IllFonic released numerous premium Predator classes based on movie characters, comic hunters, and original historical designs, each with unique stats, weapons, and appearances rather than simple reskins.

Customization goes far beyond skins. Players can adjust armor pieces, bio-masks, dreadlock styles, skin patterns, trophy selections, and weapon colors, making Hunting Grounds one of the deepest Yautja character creators in the franchise. This system also helped popularize variants such as the Tank Predator with unusually thick dreadlocks, the horned historical hunters, and multiple female Predators.

Predator Timeline Placement

On the Predator timeline, the game's present-day hunts appeared to take place across the late 2010s and 2020s, overlapping with the aftermath of The Predator (2018) and the reformation of OWLF. Dutch's storyline specifically pushed into 2025, when a 78-year-old Schaefer rejoined the fight after receiving Yautja-enhanced treatment. Isabelle's return from the 2010 Game Preserve Planet hunt bridged Hunting Grounds back to the events of the third Predator movie.

Because individual multiplayer matches were not fixed to one year, the game used its lore tapes to suggest a broader period of increased Yautja activity on Earth rather than a single canonical mission. That made Hunting Grounds less of a linear sequel and more of an anthology framework for modern jungle hunts within the expanded universe.

Development

Predator: Hunting Grounds was developed by IllFonic, the studio behind asymmetric multiplayer titles such as Friday the 13th: The Game and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. The team leaned heavily into their experience with one-versus-many multiplayer design, adapting the formula to the Predator license with cloaking, trophy mechanics, and ranged Yautja gear. Sony Interactive Entertainment published the PlayStation version, while the PC release arrived through the Epic Games Store.

IllFonic continued supporting the game for years after launch with balance patches, seasonal content, new Predator variants, and additional lore tapes. The long post-release support turned Hunting Grounds into an ongoing platform for Predator expanded-universe worldbuilding rather than a one-time licensed shooter.

Release And Reception

Predator: Hunting Grounds was released on April 24, 2020 for PlayStation 4 and PC. It received a Mature rating for blood, gore, and intense violence. Critics praised the core concept and the thrill of playing as the Predator, but many reviews criticized the lack of a single-player campaign, repetitive map pool, and balance issues at launch.

Player reception followed a similar pattern. Predator fans often called it the best realization of the "hunt or be hunted" fantasy on paper, yet the limited launch content made matches feel repetitive unless played regularly with friends. On our best Predator games list, Hunting Grounds ranks highly for concept and customization but lower for long-term value compared to classics like Aliens vs. Predator 2 or Aliens vs. Predator (2010).

Legacy

Predator: Hunting Grounds remains the most recent major Predator-focused console and PC release before later franchise entries expanded into other media. Even with its flaws, it introduced more new Yautja characters, weapons, and lore concepts than most Predator games combined. Pages across AvP Central now reference Hunting Grounds for everything from Yautja armor and trophy rituals to Predator healing, Predator types, and individual hunter profiles.

For players and lore readers, the game is best understood as a multiplayer sandbox tied to a growing archive of Predator expanded-universe stories. It did not replace the classic first-person AvP titles, but it gave the franchise a modern home for new hunters, Dutch's return, and one of the most detailed Yautja customization systems ever released. It remains a cornerstone entry on any overview of Predator games and one of the most distinctive experiments in the series.