Moonshot Games, a game studio owned by publisher Dreamhaven, unveiled Wildgate, a crew-based sci-fi game where you can fight in first person or in ship-to-ship combat in space.
It’s like a battle royale game where you can maneuver and fight in ships or close with each other in first-person action on the decks of the ships.
Wildgate combines action-packed emergent gameplay with explosive spaceship combat for a galactically fresh take on the multiplayer genre. Dreamhaven is launching the game on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2025.
Adventurers can visit www.playwildgate.com to sign up to join the first community preview playtest taking place April 10 to April 14, 2025. It takes place in a part of the galaxy called the Typhon Reach, a kind of cosmic-scale Bermuda Triangle, said Dustin Browder, game director for Wildgate. It has cosmic storms, quantum meteors, and other dangers. You assemble your crew, choose your starship, and risk it all going into the most dangerous area of the galaxy, said Jason Chayes, head of the studio.
Wildgate was revealed during the Dreamhaven Showcase presented by The Game Awards. I interviewed Mike and Amy Morhaime, cofounders of publisher Dreamhaven, about the game and the other titles in the showcase, including Sunderfolk, Lynked and Mechabellum.
Wildgate looks pretty cool, like a ship-to-ship sci-fi combat game where the action is like a battle royale. There are five ships and each has a multiplayer crew of four. You go around searching for upgrades for your ship, but you also have to try to find an artifact and then escape through the Wildgate with the artifact.
“Or you can turn on your rivals and basically just destroy the other ships, and that’s also a way to win, but if your character gets killed, then you just respawn on your ship,” Mike Morhaime said in our interview. “But if it gets destroyed, then you’re out of the match.”
There’s a lot going on there and so the matches can take longer than usual, but not as long as something like a Call of Duty: Warzone battle royale game. If you’re not a first-person shooter player, that’s OK, said Amy Morhaime, as you can handle other tasks like putting out fires on the ship to help your team.
The gameplay
In Wildgate, players (called “Prospectors”) team up in small crews to venture into a hostile, unpredictable, and mysterious region of space in search of an ancient relic known as the Artifact. While in pursuit of the Artifact, players 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.
“Wildgate was designed for anyone that’s ever wanted to go on a daring space adventure alongside a fearless crew,” said Jason Chayes, studio head of Moonshot Games, in a statement. “Players are invited to work together and confront evolving cosmic threats – whether they’re mysterious hazards of the Reach – or presented by rival Prospectors. We’re counting on you to bring your best-laid plans… and hey, even if they don’t pan out for the win, we’ve found that some of our favorite experiences are the ones we least expect.”
“Wildgate rewards cooperation and tactical mastery in a way that realizes Dreamhaven’s goal to bring players together and help them create lasting memories,” said Mike Morhaime. “Since every match of Wildgate plays differently, there’s tons for you and your friends to discover as you explore the Typhon Reach. Ship-vs-ship combat brings an element of chaos that makes for an especially fun time, and we’re looking forward to players experiencing it for themselves during the playtest.”
Key features
● Epic Spaceship Battles Blast rivals with hi-tech cannons and gadgets, lure them into deadly traps, or even mess with their ship… as long as they don’t sabotage yours first. When your perfect plan goes out the airlock, there’s only one option… wing it.
● New Adventures, Every Match: Stay one step ahead as you and your crew navigate the Reach — a vast, procedurally-generated map that changes with every game. Just be sure to beat other Prospectors to the punch, or risk flying away empty-handed.
● Unique Prospectors: Choose from a variety of daring Prospectors, each with their own abilities and tools. Whether you’re a brave pilot or a clever trickster, there’s no wrong way to commit space crimes!
● Explore the Reach: The Reach is a dangerous, unpredictable place, filled with deadly hazards and treasure beyond your wildest dreams. Navigate through cosmic storms, battle space vermin, and plunder alien outposts for lost caches of loot.
● Outgun or Outrun: The Artifact is the most valuable object in the known universe. Be the first to find it, snatch it, and pass through the exit point, or destroy the ships of every other crew and be the last crew standing.
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