The Finals hacker-themed Season 2 adds new 5v5 mode later this week

Embark Studios has announced Season 2 of The Finals will begin later this week, as well as details of the new 5v5 mode and more to be added to the game.

In Season 2, players will continue to compete in the virtual game show while it's been hacked by the group known as CNS. The new Playstyle added to The Finals is called Hacker and will be able to use abilities such as removing walls, tunneling across the arena, and transforming items to hinder opponents.

The Hacker Playstyle comes with new gadgets and a specialization that can be mixed and matched with existing toolsets, Embark said in its announcement (on Steam).

There are new features and weapons for each class too. Light builds can turn the arena into an Aperture Laboratories test chamber with The Gateway, a pair of deployable portals, and will get access to the 93R burst-fire machine pistol. Medium builds will get access to a new specialization called The Dematerializer, which can temporarily erase physical surfaces, The Data Reshaper, a gadget which can change objects into something different, and a FAMAS burst assault rifle. Heavy builds will get the KS-23 slug shotgun and a deployable Anti-Gravity Cube.

Season 2 also introduces Power Shift, a new 5v5 mode where teams compete to escort a platform through the arena. A new arena called SYS$HORIZON, which plays on the hacking theme of Season 2 with floating, glitched geometry and voxel bridges, will be available to play.

Finally, the ranked system has been changed to a new League System which should improve ranked play, and a new Career Progression system which offers weekly rewards will be in place. Embark will also be testing out private matches, although those will only be available in a feature-limited beta version.

The Finals Season 2 will kick off this Thursday on 14th March on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The Finals shadowdropped in December during The Game Awards. In Eurogamer's The Finals review, Rick Lane found potential in the combat but felt the game was lacking in meta.