Triangle Studios has unveiled Rockhounds, a cooperative shooter about mining space coal on hostile alien worlds.

Triangle Studios Unveils Co-op Shooter Rockhounds — Mining Space Coal Among Hostile Worlds

Studio Triangle Studios has announced its new project — Rockhounds. The game's page is already available on Steam. The project combines a top-down co-op shooter with tower defense elements and extraction-shooter mechanics.

The game's events unfold against the backdrop of a fading human civilization. Players take on the roles of mercenaries working for powerful megacorporations. Their main task is to mine a valuable resource known as space coal. Corporations are willing to pay any amount for this resource, which is why they send squads to the most dangerous corners of space.

The gameplay revolves around expeditions to hostile planets. Each location is procedurally generated: players encounter unique landscapes and changing weather conditions. A team of up to four people must not only extract resources but also defend the drilling rig from aggressive local fauna and competing squads.

One of the key features of Rockhounds is the mechanic of building fortifications right during the mission. Mined ore can be instantly spent on constructing walls, turrets, and traps, allowing players to quickly create a defensive perimeter and adapt to the changing situation.

An important part of the gameplay is the balance between greed and caution. Players constantly have to decide when to send the cargo into orbit and evacuate. Delaying for extra loot can lead to the death of the entire squad and loss of the contract, while evacuating too early deprives them of the opportunity to maximize profit.

The developers plan to release the game in Early Access, where it will remain for six months to a year. During the project's creation, the team uses generative artificial intelligence for developing concepts and auxiliary assets, but all materials are carefully refined by artists manually.

Currently, Rockhounds only has announced support for the English language. An exact release date has not yet been announced.