Everspace 2 launches January 18 on Steam and GOG in Early Access
Rockfish Games will release space shooter Everspace 2 on January 18 as an Early Access version on Steam and GOG. The early version of the game was supposed to be released in December, but that was postponed because Cyberpunk 2077 was released during the same period.
The independent German development studio has released a new teaser trailer and makes it clear that Everspace 2 will cost 38 euros. The first more than 12 hours of the game features professional English-language voiceovers, which are intended for the story campaign and some separate missions. According to the developer, this initial version of the game features approximately 25 hours of gameplay, introducing players to core mechanics such as space combat, exploration, mining, puzzle solving, trading, collecting items and customizing ships. There are five different ship classes present in the open world space shooter, which Rockfish describes as a looter shooter in space.
The developer says the game is “far from complete.” When released on January 18, there are two star systems in the world to explore, but eventually there should be eight. A number of new ship classes are also gradually being added, which are gradually added on a quarterly basis. According to Rockfish Games, the final version will contain twice as much story content as there is now. The full, final version for the PC, which also includes Mac and Linux support, will be released in the first half of 2022.
The original Everspace was released in May 2017 for the Xbox One and PC, among others, after the development studio raised more than 420,000 euros in 2015 with a successful Kickstarter campaign. After that, the makers also raised money through their own site, bringing the total to 670,000 euros. Rockfish Games repeated this for Everspace 2; the Kickstarter campaign raised more than 500,000 euros. The original Everspace is a single player game with procedurally generated levels and roguelike elements, while Everspace 2 is an open world shooter with RPG elements.
Everspace 2 has support for customizable Hotas setups, and the game has presets for “popular Logitech and Thrustmaster joysticks.” Like its predecessor, the game should also be released for the Xbox One and PS4, but when those ports will be ready, the developer does not make clear. They will probably follow in 2022, after the final version of the game is ready.