A few years ago, our studio began work on a brand new project set in a distant galaxy. Yesterday, we revealed Wildgate – a team-based shooter featuring out-of-this-world spaceship battles and only three rules: Outsmart. Outrun. Outgun.

In Wildgate, players team up in crews of four to venture into a hostile, unpredictable, and mysterious corner of the universe in search of an ancient relic known as the Artifact. While in pursuit of the Artifact, players need to work together to pilot their spacecraft, plunder wreckage, and discover forgotten loot. To win, crews must successfully reach the exit point with the Artifact or go for a domination victory by destroying all rival ships by whatever means necessary.

Now, that’s just what Wildgate is on paper. But how does it actually play? Let’s dive in.

Your adventures in Wildgate begin in the Lucky Docks, an old mining base on the edge of the infamous Typhon Reach (aka “the Reach”).

The Lucky Docks serves as the game’s lobby, and from there, you can put together a pre-made crew or queue up solo. Each match of Wildgate will host five crews of up to four players, or 20 players total; once a full session is formed, you’ll all drop into the launching bay for final pre-launch checks before heading into the Reach.

Dive Into The Reach

The Reach is your game map; it’s where every match of Wildgate takes place. The vast interstellar cloud formations and hazards of the Reach are procedurally-generated, which means its size, shape, layout, encounters, and more—as well as the location of the Artifact itself—is unknown when you first enter. No two matches of Wildgate are ever the same, and danger lurks around every corner.

What kind of danger? Asteroids. Storms. Mines. Rogue turrets. Reach Leeches. (So many leeches…) Some you can avoid. Others, you can protect yourself and your crew from with a few lucky upgrades. For the rest, well…those you’ll just need to destroy outright, before they damage your ship.

All Hands on Deck

In Wildgate, players are known as Prospectors. What brings each Prospector to the Reach might vary (fame, fortune, scientific advancement, the thrill of adventure), but there’s one goal they all share…and that’s to retrieve the Artifact.

Your mission is simple: get in, get the Artifact, and get out. But you and your crew aren’t alone in the Reach! Four other crews of Prospectors are also searching for the Artifact and they’ll do anything to get to it before you do. So, you’ll need to work together if you want to make it out in one piece. And to do that, you need a ship.

For each and every match of Wildgate, your ship is your lifeline—and the right ship could give you an edge. Some ships, like the Hunter and Scout, are smaller and faster, but they have fewer turret emplacements and hardpoints and their shields may not last as long. While others, like the Bastion, are larger and more durable; but don’t expect to sneak up on any rival crews (they’ll see you coming from a mile away).

Whatever ship you’re on, just remember one thing: As long as your ship is intact, so is your crew. You’ll need to work together to pilot your ship into and out of combat, use its weapons to attack rival crews, fight fires, repair broken equipment, activate devices, and defend against enemy boarders.

Fly Around and Find Out

There’s plenty to do once you’re in the Reach!

While one crew member pilots, others can go offboard to collect important resources, or stay inside to use one of your ship’s probe stations. Probes are great to discover what’s nearby—like rival ships, points of interest (POIs), and maybe even your exit point (the eponymous “Wildgate”). POIs are filled with PvE encounters and are scattered across the Reach, and completing them will unlock critical upgrades for ship, like better weapons, shields, and security devices to keep you and your crew safe.You may also find some personal items—be sure to bring these back to your ship so you can use them in later phases of the game.

But the best loot of all? The Artifact, of course.

Outrun or Outgun

Hidden somewhere within the Reach is the coveted Arifact, and if your crew is lucky enough to discover its location first…congratulations! Now it’s up to you how you wish to proceed: grab it and make a mad dash for the exit, or lay in wait and set a trap for other Prospectors looking for the big score.

If your crew chooses to make a run for it, you’ll need to fly the Artifact through an active Wildgate. Fair warning though: Grabbing the Artifact will alert rival Prospectors in the Reach (as well as reveal your location on their maps), and in most cases: battle will soon begin. Get ready to be attacked and/or boarded as other crews may attempt to steal the Artifact from you—or outright destroy your ship to eliminate you from combat.

Whatever you decide, the goal is to escape with the Artifact or be the last crew standing. And while not everything in the Reach may go as you planned…you’ll always leave with one heck of a story.

Wildgate is coming is to Xbox Series X|S later this year, but our first community preview playtest begins in just a few weeks! Sign up today to join us in the Reach on April 11-14 at playwildgate.com.