The Riftbreaker News

In today’s article, we will address one of the most commonly asked questions about the Co-Op mode in the Riftbreaker. Before you ask, no, it’s not the release date. Yet. We’re sorry about that, but we’re making excellent progress with the beta build. We release hundreds of access keys every week, adding more players to our testing pool. Each session you play and each bug report you send us is crucial in shaping the game. Your feedback brings us closer to the finish line, but we’re not there yet. Today, we want to address your questions about the Campaign Mode in Co-Op, specifically, how we will handle the fact that the Campaign takes place across multiple maps.

A player may start the voting process for travel across biomes at any time. Any. As long as the Orbital Scanner is available. And as long as you're not under attack. And as long as there is no other source of interference. But other than that, any time.

Here's a closer look at the not-yet-finished revamp of the Orbital Scanner screen.

The question we mentioned in the intro of this article is: “Will we be able to be on different maps at the same time during a Campaign run?” Unfortunately, the answer is no. As you know, The Riftbreaker runs on our own engine, The Schmetterling. Over the past few years, the engine has undergone a complete rework, adapting its single-player functionality to handle network play. The goal we set for ourselves was to make sure everything you’ve already seen in the game translates well into the multiplayer context. We expanded the engine with tons of new features and capabilities to meet that goal. However, our resources are limited. Allowing you to play on different maps at the same time would necessitate a total makeover of the campaign structure and the logic behind it. Allowing players to travel to different places independently would essentially turn the game into a small MMO and make you rely on our servers for the game to run. We didn’t want that to happen, so we chose the other option - all players on the same map at all times.

Over 50% of players have to agree to a Rift Jump. You will have to convince others why you want to go somewhere else.

Now, let’s talk about how we are going to handle travelling between maps in the Campaign. We chose to use one of the oldest human inventions still in use today - good old democracy. During a Co-Op Campaign, any player can enter the Orbital Scanner screen and choose a location they would like to visit. However, instead of going there immediately, all players will receive a prompt informing them that one of the players would like to travel to another location. Then, they have one minute to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ The player who started the vote is automatically counted as a ‘Yes.’ This democratic system ensures that every player's voice is heard, and the outcome is decided by the majority. If more than 50% of players participating in the session agree to jump to a different region, the voting ends, and the rift jump commences after a few seconds.

The voting screen slearly states who started the vote and where they want to take you. It also shows you how much time there is left to cast your vote. The popup disappears as soon as you choose one of the options.

We decided to use simple majority because it is a fair and logical way of settling ties for groups of two to four players. Both have to agree to jump in a session with two players. Otherwise, the vote is dismissed. In the case of three players, two of them have to agree to make the jump for the vote to pass. With four players, at least three have to agree. We also considered going with the absolute majority, where all players must vote positively. Still, we ultimately decided against that after a run-in with our in-office trolls, who voted ‘No’ for fun at all times. With this system in place, one vote won’t break the flow of the campaign for everyone.

When all players cast their votes and the result is positive, the game doesn't wait until the timer ends. A save is triggered and off you go!

We are currently conducting a series of parallel Co-Op Campaign tests, with the intent to break the game as much as we can. We purposefully disconnect from the game, connect back, crash on purpose… We’re doing everything possible to ensure the Campaign Mode is an excellent experience for you. As we said earlier, we’re making good progress, and we can see the light at the end of this tunnel, but we’re not quite there yet. We hope to share some good news with you soon - it seems more likely every day. In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for our Co-Op Beta test and Discord at www.discord.gg/exorstudios to get the latest updates. Also, remember to join our streams on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 PM CET at www.twitch.tv/exorstudios - you can get answers to all your questions live!

See you next time!
EXOR Studios

We have just released a patch for The Riftbreaker Closed Co-Op Beta, featuring a new biome - Fungal Swamp, and a large suite of other fixes. The full changelog is available below:

[h2]The Riftbreaker Closed Co-Op Beta Update, March 4th, 2025 Changelog:[/h2]
[h3]Changes:[/h3]

• Added a new biome to the multiplayer build: Fungal Swamp. You can now play Survival in two new scenarios - Fungal Forest and Fungal Swamp. Good luck.
  
• Reduced the size of the collision box for Walls to prevent the player's projectiles from hitting them when standing on the Heightened Wall Floor.
  
• Shard Gun and Heavy Plasma muzzles have been raised slightly to avoid collision issues.
  
• Crafted Mech Upgrades will only receive the stats listed on the crafting screen. Upgrades you find as loot are able to receive additional bonuses.
  
• Bonuses granted by mech upgrade modules are now additive, not multiplicative. Previously, if you equipped a 10% resistance bonus upgrade, and then another one, you would get 11% as a result. Now, the bonuses will add up to 20%, as one would expect.
  
• Changed the meshes for Gnerot, Krocoon, Fungor and Necrodon Omega strains to the new ones.
  
• Changed the "Host Game" button localization to "Host/Load Game" to let players know they can actually load the game via the lobby screen.
  
• Crafted weapons are now marked as crafted in the inventory.
  
• Added a new background to the lobby screen.
  
• Added some temporary emotes and animations to the ping wheel - taunt, greeting, dance, cheer.
  
• Changed the lights in Biocaches - the radius is larger, the intensity lower, and the light pillar more visible.
  
• Changed the effective radius for the Shockwave Tower from 13 to 18.
  
• Updated the Tropical Zone loading screen to feature the updated Hammerocerros models.
  
• Added more loot to Canceroth.
  
• Added healthbars to all Canceroth central cells.
  

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]

• Fixed several gamepad navigation issues.
  
• Fixed issues with damage skins for several cryo Omega creatures.
  
• Fixed a crash in the Inventory System.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused Ferdonite to use a wrong color icon.
  
• Reduced the instance limit of the Shotgun bullet hit sound to prevent it from getting too loud.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented preview sounds from playing while changing volume sliders in the Audio Options menu.
  
• Fixed several stability issues related to DX12 raytracing.
  
• Fixed some animation glitches while attacking with the Sword.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused most projectiles to be invisible.
  
• Fixed crashes that occurred when connecting to the server and restarting the game.
  
• Multiple optimizations, performance improvements and networking enhancements.
  

EXOR Studios

We have just released a small patch aimed to increase the game's stability on systems equipped with Nvidia RTX GPUs.

Over the past weeks, we have been made aware of an issue that causes our game to crash when raytracing options are enabled. Further investigation revealed that the increased frequency of these crashes coincided with the release of new Nvidia GPU drivers. Unfortunately, the crashes happened at random intervals and were not present on all GPU/driver combinations, which made searching for the cause of this bug especially tricky.

Today's patch fixes one of the possible issues that caused the game to crash with raytracing options enabled. However, this is not the final fix. We are still working on a comprehensive solution that will solve this issue altogether.

If you still experience crashing after this patch, please try playing with raytracing options disabled. While not a perfect solution, this will allow you to continue playing uninterrupted. We will release another patch as soon as we can.

We sincerely apologize for this issue.

EXOR Studios

As we promised last week, today we will look at all the special skills we have developed for the most powerful enemies in the game - Omega creatures. These additional abilities expand the skillset of the creatures you regularly encounter in the game beyond anything you’ve seen. The Omega skills come in all roles - offensive, defensive, and supportive, requiring you to adapt your combat style for each encounter. This article will show you all the skills individually, clearly explaining each. We will also tell you about our experience while developing them, including discovering some absolutely overpowered combinations we experienced first-hand. Let’s dive in.

First, let’s quickly recap what we know about Omega creatures and their skills so far. They are special remakes of the creatures you have seen on Galatea 37. The difference is that the creatures of this strain are much more dangerous than their regular counterparts - which is reflected in their unique appearance. Omega creatures are beefier stat-wise and can also receive additional traits. The higher the game’s difficulty level, the more abilities a creature can receive. In the game's early stages, you won’t encounter Omegas at all, or they will only receive an HP boost. However, as you progress, they will start receiving additional skills. One Omega creature at the highest difficulty level can have up to four abilities. Now that we’re all up to speed on what they are, let’s see the full list of the Omega abilities.

We used a regular Fungor as our example skill "carrier", because it is a slow unit that does not have any additional skills. This will allow you to take a good look at each skill individually.

These attacks come in various shapes and forms. The attack patterns get more complex as the Omega creatures grow stronger.

Cascade Attacks - These attacks are telegraphed by warning zones appearing on the ground. After a few moments, acidic explosions, lighting strikes, or underground rocks appear in the marked areas. On higher difficulty levels, more danger zones appear. You will have to move around a lot not to get hit!

Unless you can outheal the damage, melee weapons against Aura-equipped enemies are not the best idea.

Damage Aura - A true classic. The radius around the Omega creature is lava (or some other equally unpleasant element)! If you stand close to the creature, you will continue to receive a steady stream of damage. Attack the target from afar or find a way to outheal the damage.


Drones are always on the move and you have to be as well!

Drone Spawner - If you thought that Baxmoth drone swarms were terrifying, just wait until you see an Omega with this ability! This skill allows the creature to spawn an endless stream of aggressive drones that will happily attack you and your structures. You must never stop moving unless you want an express trip to the HQ.


This Omega has no time to waste - there are millions of eggs to lay!

Egg Spawner - This ability allows the Omega creature to spawn eggs that will hatch into full-sized creatures after a few seconds. This supplies the attack wave with a never-ending stream of cannon fodder. However, it’s not as bad as it would seem - you can destroy the eggs before they hatch.


Fungor recovered all its lost HP in just one lap around the lake. However, if you keep dealing damage, the heal won't trigger.

Healing Aura - A support skill that restores the health of all enemy units in a large radius around the Omega creature. The creature endowed with this ability can also heal itself, meaning you can’t leave the fight halfway and return another day. You have to defeat it all at once.


The meteors get more powerful and accurate later in the game. However, since they don't target you specifically, meteors are a threat for your structures as well.

Meteor Spawner - The Omega creature can send a targeted meteor strike at you with this ability. There is a big difference from the cascade attacks we mentioned earlier - the meteors do not follow any pattern. You only have a fraction of a second to escape, so practice dodging!


Taking down the source of the Resistance Aura is a priority.

Resistance Aura - Thanks to this ability, all the creatures in a radius around the Omega will receive a meaningful damage resistance boost, including the big guy! This makes your targets significantly harder to take down.


How do you like chaos and a never-ending stream of cannon fodder?

Resurrect Aura - Omega creatures have been taking lessons from Necrodons. Thanks to this skill, they can revive units that have fallen in battle. If there is no one they can revive (unlikely), they will instead summon a pack of creatures out of thin air.


Shockwave will punish you for getting too close. It will also prevent you from teleporting around the map.

Shockwave - This ability triggers when you get too close to the enemy unit. It will send a shockwave pulse, dealing damage in a radius around the creature and also turning off your minimap and the ability to teleport. It is better to stay away as far as possible when you see it.


In case you're wondering - this is just a regular version of the Swarm Spawner skill. Omegas can also be surrounded by Ultra Canceroth. You're welcome.

Swarm Spawner - The Omega creature with this ability is surrounded by a swarm of Canceroth cells. They serve as additional protection from attacks and deal a fair share of damage. You have to destroy these cells before you get to the Omega. Be quick - they will grow back after a while!


You can either fight, or try to escape. Be quick though - these walls can pop up very quickly.

Waller - A creature with this ability will create walls that severely limit your movement options. You will have to break through these walls to escape or press on despite the limited maneuverability and deal with the source of the problem.

Now that you get the whole picture, you can see that Omega creatures can get more than one ability (but not multiples of one!), which can lead to some overpowered combinations. Imagine our shock when we first encountered a creature with both Healing and Resistance Auras on a Survival run. We had only reached Advanced weapons at that time. The beast was absolutely unkillable for us and ended our run prematurely. Similarly, the combination of Waller and Drones or a Damage Aura has almost halved the population of gamepads around the office. Based on the playtesters’ feedback, we preemptively excluded some combinations of Omega skills to prevent further emotional damage. We will continue making changes to ensure that Omegas remain tough but fair and beatable.

Do you have any ideas for more skills that we could use? Let us know in the comments! If you want to have a chance to fight these creatures before the official release, sign up for the Closed Co-Op Beta below. Everyone who signs up will receive access to the Beta for them and their friends before the testing period is over.

[h2]To sign up for The Riftbreaker Multiplayer Beta please fill in the following form:[/h2]
We reserve the right to contact only select participants, but we will do our best to accommodate everyone!



[h3]A very important PS: We are aware of an issue that causes the game to crash on Nvidia RTX GPUs when raytracing is enabled. This issue arose with the release of the new drivers for these GPUs. We are working on the issue and we are narrowing down on the source of the problem. However, in the meantime, if you are experiencing crashes turn raytracing options off in the Advanced Graphics menu. We apologize for these issues and we are doing our best to fix them as quickly as possible.[/h3]

EXOR Studios

We told you about the new Omega Class enemies that will spice up your Campaign and Survival runs a couple of weeks ago. In a nutshell, they are more powerful strains of Galatean creatures. Not only are they more durable and deal more damage upfront, but they also come with a range of special abilities that require you to change up your strategy and find an individual approach to each of them. Fighting Omega creatures has quickly become one of our playtesters' favorite elements of the Co-Op Beta. We’re pleased with how the Omega ability system turned out. Naturally, we investigated if any other areas of the game could use it - and we think we found the perfect candidate.

The first nest you find in the game is in the Prologue mission. Although we won't be making this one any different, it portrays the issue with the event altogether - shooting at an immobile, defenseless object is not that engaging.

There are many randomized events that can take place during any Riftbreaker mission. They range from weather events to all-out assaults by enemy creatures. One such event that can happen in any Galatean biome is finding a creature nest in the wild. They can either appear alone or in a group of three. If left unchecked, the nest will keep spawning creatures that will happily eat a hole in your defenses. The only way to stop that from happening is to take a slight detour from your current plans and eliminate the source of the problem. That’s where the event has been a bit underwhelming. Creature nests are immobile and largely defenseless. Destroying them was an unrewarding formality for most Riftbreakers. We want to change that, so we decided to explore some options.

Things change a little when there are a couple of nests involved, and the difficulty level is a bit higher. Some creatures try to stop you from wrecking their homes, but they are no match for your firepower.

All biomes in The Riftbreaker have their own nest model that spawns creatures appropriate for that biome. However, some are slightly different. In the Metallic Valley, the nests take the form of an X-Morph Biofactory, heavily defended by loads of Alien Plasma and Artillery Towers. Destroying each of those defensive structures yields resources and makes the fight much less one-sided. We continued with that idea in the Fungal Swamp biome. Over there, the nests have an acid-spitting maw on top of them, also leading to much more engaging fights. We realized this made the entire event much more interesting, especially if multiple nests were involved. It made us think: what means of defense can we give the other static creature nests to make them more similar to the ones in the Metallic Valley and Fungal Swamp biomes? As an experiment, we decided to try some of the Omega strain abilities.

After giving them an HP boost and some abilities, the nests are a much bigger problem now! The ones you can see here have one ability each: one shoots fireballs from the sky, another sends bursts of lightning, and the third keeps healing the other two. While we won't be spawning the nests so close to one another, this gives you an idea of what we wanted to achieve.

We started small, applying a moderate HP boost and one randomly chosen skill from the Omega skill set. The event immediately felt much better - not only did it take some time and actual firepower to destroy the threat, but the nest could fight back and destroy your mech if you weren’t careful. However, not all the abilities we prepared for our bosses made sense on a static object. Let’s take the ‘waller’ ability as an example. It is completely illogical for the nest to ‘wall you in’ and essentially protect you from the creatures it spawns, all the while you’re blasting your most potent weapons at it. We left in those abilities that can deal direct damage to you or buff the surrounding creatures. Thanks to this, fights became more engaging and rewarding, giving us a good reason to provide you with chances for more loot! All defeated Omega nests will have the chance to drop a fountain of resources, mods, and unique items.

More nests, more chaos! Again, this is a testing situation, and the nests won't ever be this close, but the chaos is glorious! Drones, pattern attacks, healing - they have it all. Prepare your best gear!

Next week, we'll unveil the full range of Omega creature abilities and how they work together. Some combos are so powerful that we've had to ban them from ever appearing together in the wild, ensuring fair and balanced gameplay. In the meantime, we invite you to sign up for the Closed Beta playtest. We've increased the number of invites we send out with each update, and we're eager to test the strengths and weaknesses of our game with a large player base. We promise that everyone who signs up will receive an invite before the end of the beta period. And remember, getting a key will also allow you to join our Co-Op streams, which happen every Tuesday and Thursday at https://www.twitch.tv/exorstudios at 3 PM CET. We look forward to seeing you there!

[h2]To sign up for The Riftbreaker Multiplayer Beta please fill in the following form:[/h2]
We reserve the right to contact only select participants, but we will do our best to accommodate everyone!



EXOR Studios