Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor News

Hello Survivors.

The Steam Playtest of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor has now concluded, and we want to thank everyone who took part! We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the popularity of, what we thought would be a relatively small scale test of a pretty early version of the game. Instead we ended up inviting over ten thousand of you to give us an answer to our most burning question: “Are we on to something?”

We’ve read every single comment, bug report and feature suggestions, and while we won't try and summarize all of it, here is a few things we have learned or confirmed:

Perhaps this version was a bit too hard
We all like a good challenge, and generally you also liked the difficulty of the game after you unlocked a few meta upgrades, but the very beginning of the game could definitely be easier to better onboard new players. In general, we think it’s premature to get too detailed about the balance of the game because we haven’t added overclocks or any classes besides Scout which will massively impact the balance. Expect many more balance passes in the future.

Power increase should be less linear and more spiky
You can definitely make an overpowered build already by stacking up certain passive bonuses until it takes off, but it doesn’t currently feel exciting enough to get there. We think a good survivor-like has intermittent power spikes where you feel temporarily overpowered and can run AT the enemies instead of away from them. We are working on something exciting to fix this, and we will go into more details in the next Steam News post.

You like where we are going with this
We knew making a DRG spin-off would come with certain expectations in terms of quality and depth, and especially so when it has the audacity to break with the DRG core pillar of co-op multiplayer. Yet the vast majority of your feedback has been super positive.

Once again, thanks for helping us test the game. We couldn’t do this without you.

Rock and stone!

Funday Games


PS: If you’re looking for something to play while waiting for the next time DRG:S is playable, check out the Playtest for our other game Don’t Die in the West - a Western survival-crafting adventure game https://store.steampowered.com/app/1751350/

Hello Survivors.

We have just sent out the first round of invites to the Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Playtest. This is the first time we are distributing the game to a wider audience which is both nerve wracking and very exciting for us. The purpose of this playtest is to gather feedback from a wider range of players than we have been able to previously, testing on a wider range of hardware, with players on both ends of the genre-skill bell curve.

The Playtest is a small taste of what the Early Access release will look like (which in turn is a small taste of what the full release will look like). If you feel like the game is currently lacking in certain ways, remember that we are a very small team working hard to improve it every day.

Q: How do I give feedback?
A: We have a system set up on our Discord to create threads with bug reports, and cards with feature suggestions that can be voted up/down by the community. If you insist on using the Steam Hub for feedback, we will read that occasionally too.

Q: When are you sending out more invites?
A: We will be inviting more people throughout this week and next at irregular intervals, so keep an eye out for an email from Steam that says “You’ve been invited to help test Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor”.

Q: How long will the playtest last?
A: A couple of weeks. We will be sure to give you a warning a couple of days in advance before we close it, so you have time for one last dive.

Q: I didn’t get in :( Why don’t you just let EVERYONE in?
A: The purpose of the playtest is to get actionable feedback, not to be overwhelmed by it. We will make a demo for everyone later this year, so you get to try the game before our Early Access launch.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the playtest, and look forward to hearing your feedback. We are making this game for you.

Rock and stone!

Funday Games

PS. We've just added an extra way to get a key for the Playtest (if you're lucky). Sweepwidget is a bit like Gleam.io where you can get a few entries to a giveaway by following our socials and wishlisting the game. We're giving out 250 keys with this on Friday.
https://sweepwidget.com/c/71109-vflbayrh

Hello Survivors.

We are still hard at work, cracking away at this new take on the DRG universe, but it’s time to get your feedback on our progress so far. That’s why we have opened the sign-ups for the first round of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor playtesting!

You didn't try to click this one, did you? The real button is on the store page.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so here’s a quick FAQ that should answer the most burning ones.

Q: When does the Playtesting start?
A: A couple of weeks from now - we’re aiming for June 19th. We’ll make a post once it’s live.

Q: When does the Playtesting end?
A: The playtesting will run for a couple of weeks. The exact end date is TBD, but we will disable it at some point to allow ourselves time to look at all your feedback and adjust the game, without the pressure of running live service at the same time.

Q: How do I get in?
A: For now, you click on the “Request Access” button on the Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Steam store page, and then cross your fingers. We will be inviting people at regular intervals to keep a steady stream of fresh eyes and trigger fingers.

Q: I have opinions. What do I do with them?
A: Why don’t you take them, and… post them on our Discord! Or on the Steam Hub! Or use our handy in-game feedback tool that pops up when you press F1!

Q: Will my progress carry over to the full game?
A: No - don’t expect it to. Play as if it will not.

Q: Can I make content out of the Playtest?
A: Yes, but please let your audience know that this is a beta version of the game.

A pre-emptive thanks for helping us test the game. We couldn’t do this without you.

Rock and stone!

Funday Games

Hello Survivors.

In this development update, we want to talk about guns. Not the ones attached to a stout dwarf’s shoulder, but the ones used to enhance a cave through the merciless culling of glyphids.

Before we get started, and just like last time, a quick disclaimer:



There are several challenges when converting Deep Rock Galactic weapons into ones that can be used in a survivor-like/bullet heaven. Most notably, the weapons are going from 3D to 2D and they are no longer aimed but for the most part auto-aimed. We want to keep the flavor of the original weapon so that it feels right, but they don’t necessarily have to copy all of the characteristics of their origin.

Take the M1000 Classic, a Scout’s favored semi-automatic precision rifle with a long reload time and a unique alternative firing mode.

The core characteristics of this weapon that we are bringing into DRG:S is the low rate of fire, the high damage, and the precision. But how do you make one auto-aimed weapon more precise than another? Through lots of experimentation, we have made the M1000 feel more precise by making it auto-aim towards the enemy with the highest HP rather than the closest enemy (like many other weapons will), and by giving it piercing shots.

It’s the big piercing bullet in the sea of smaller bullets

Next up is Zhukov NUK17 - two SMGs dual-wielded by the Scout. Main characteristics are their high rate of fire, big clip size, and well… there’s two of them.


We’ve been through a couple of different iterations on this one, first of which was them shooting two side-by-side lines of bullets towards the nearest target - a bit too mundane. Then we tried to direction-lock them which is something that has become a staple in the genre for a good reason, as it forces you to think about your positioning in a new way when you equip it. First we had two lines of bullets from each side of the character, but ended with four so the bullets shoot out in four directions from the Scout. We think this has succeeded in making the weapons feel somewhat like its origin.



Finally I want to highlight the Breach Cutter - a heavy weapon that fires out a plasma blade that expands and travels as a purple line damaging anything in its path. Key characteristics here being slow reload, low magazine size, but also great AoE with piercing and cleaving.


This weapon was made for a game like this, and much easier to get as close to the original as possible. Each end of the plasma blade can bounce on walls and the beam between them can pierce both enemies and terrain. This makes it an exceptional choice in tight spaces, which you don’t have to seek out, but can make for yourself by mining through the terrain. Check out the Breach Cutter in action:


We have plenty more weapons in the game already, and a whole truckload from DRG that we haven’t even touched yet. Making them all feel unique, useful and true to their origins is an exciting challenge, and we can’t wait for you to try some of them soon.

Rock and stone!

Some gifs have my stupid cursor on them, and I noticed too late, and I’m too lazy to recapture. You probably didn’t notice but now you can’t unsee it.

In this development update, we want to talk a bit about everyone’s favorite all-purpose drone APD-B317 aka Bosco.

It was always clear to us that if we wanted to make a single player Deep Rock Galactic game, we had to bring along this guy to help you out. When you land with the drop pod and exit onto the caves of Hoxxes IV, ready for your first mission, Bosco is right there with you.

Thank you Syliss - we agree!

In the beginning, it’s not the most helpful robot but fortunately, management has graciously agreed to grant it many of the upgrades you have come to expect. Every few level-ups (currently 5), you will have the opportunity to upgrade Bosco with new tech, or upgrade his existing kit. Here’s one such choice:
Please don’t mind the placeholder graphics

I chose Rockets this time around, and here is the result - without upgrades of course.


Now this is the current state of Bosco in our very early version of the game. What follows will describe our intentions and vision for Bosco in the future, and it comes with a classic Early Access caveat that you should print and frame and hang on your wall or tattoo on your forehead.


We want Bosco to be a helpful companion that can be upgraded not just in means of destruction but also in utility. It’s easy to imagine the robot engaging in mining, healing, crowd control, collecting XP etc. Bosco also serves as a great ‘Point B’ for abilities such as the electrical tether from the upgrade screen above, which adds a layer of strategy to your positioning.

The limitations of Bosco in an auto-shooter is that we will not be able to use laser pointers to command it around, since it goes against the genre idea of not aiming. As an alternative, we could have unlockable perks that change the behavior of Bosco to your desired need, such as: Aggressive, defensive, mining-mode etc. This opens up the challenge of doing full ‘Bosco Build runs’ where you transfer much of the power, and possibly your entire arsenal to the robot and make it a true killing machine while you are free to mine at will.

V old friend


DISCLAIMER: Management advises against the personification and nicknaming of robots because of decreased morale and depression in the unlikely event of a malfunction.