It’s time to get to work. Focus Entertainment and Blackbird Interactive announced at Gamescom the release date of its highly ambitious space labor simulator, Hardspace: Shipbreaker. This immersive and unique simulator puts players into the suit of a shipyard, a worker that dismantles space vessels for scrap and worth, all to pay off their debts.
The news of the console release date follows the successful launch of Hardspace: Shipbreaker for Pac on May 22nd, 2022, following its time in Steam Early Access. After several years in Early Access, the game launched on Steam, garnering critical and commercial praise from the press and users alike. It currently sits in the ‘Very Positive’ ranking out of over 12,000 use reviews on Steam. The release of Hardspace: Shipbreaker on console brings a unique experience to new audiences, especially those with a fondness for games that aren’t so much about saving the world but working to do the everyday jobs that make life possible.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker Gameplay
Hardspace: Shipbreaker positions players as a shipbreaker, skilled laborers tasked with successfully dismantling and breaking ships apart, taking their hulls and innards, and recycling components for value. A shipbreaker has all of the tools necessary for the job: laser cutters, omnidirectional thrusters, tractor beams, and grenades that emit a birth of plasma that can cut through steel like a hot knife through margarine. From small dropships to large warships, players in Hardspace: Shipbreaker work hard to attain value from the teardown of ships.
Electrical computer components can still be used and the prized fusion reactors can fetch a hefty price tag. It all sounds simple, but the job is remarkably dangerous, from explosive decompression to the unexpected detonation of a reactor. Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a game that players play at their own pace. Some ships can take well over an hour to complete, and the game resets that with manual saves that can be used at any time. The quest to pay off the 1 Billion credits to Lynx Corp has begun.
Personal History
I’ve been following Hardspace: Shipbreaker since Pax East 2020, when it was in a pre-early access state. Even in the earlier state, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, looked sharp, played well, and provided one of the most engaging and relaxing experiences in games. I revisited the experience at PAX East 2022, and my hands-on impressions of Hardspace: Shipbreaker can be read here in full, but I ultimately had a tremendously satisfying time with the game there. I can easily foresee players that have been fascinated with titles such as Mudrunner, Snowrunner, Cozy Grove, and even Animal Crossing having a solid time with Hardspace: Shipbreaker, chopping ships into pieces hundreds of nautical miles above the Earth.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker launches for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on Tuesday, September 20th, 2022.
