Starship Troopers is the perfect setting for this new sci-fi co-op shooter

Excellent news, citizen: developer Offworld Industries have announced a brand new cooperative FPS based in the dystopian sci-fi setting of Starship Troopers, made famous by the 1997 cult-classic Paul Verhoeven film by the same name. 

Due to go into early access in 2023 for PC, Starship Troopers: Extermination promises a 12-player co-op experience where squads of grunts will take on hordes of bugs in large-scale, objective-oriented battles. Judging from the gameplay trailer, you can expect to use a wide variety of weapons and base-building mechanics to keep humanity safe from the insectoid threat. It’s basically Fortnite, Left 4 Dead, and dastardly alien bugs all rolled into one.

The game includes different classes and progression mechanics offering perks and gear, all reminiscent of Back 4 Blood and Warhammer 40,000 Darktide.

Service guarantees citizenship

Starship Troopers takes place in a bleak, dystopian future where humanity, having fallen to authoritarianism, has declared war on a race of insectoid aliens they creatively call “the bugs”. Popularized in the 1997 film, Starship Troopers offers a biting satire of totalitarianism, militarization, and fascism told from the perspective of the soldiers who are sent out to fight humanity’s wars. 

This is, in part, why the setting is perfect for a co-op FPS. The meat of the setting has always been in the experiences of the sorry squads of soldiers who are driven to fight and die in a futile war against the bugs. Starship Troopers offers an extremely bleak take on the future of humanity. Starship Troopers engenders an entertaining sense of morbid curiosity and satirical bite while offering plenty of chances for pulse-pounding action. 

In a one-on-one engagement, an individual soldier is no match for even a single bug. In the spirit of the best co-op games, you will have to work together and rely on teamwork to put up a proper fight. This is why the setting lends itself to co-op so well. The bugs will have a much harder time coming after you if your mate is laying down some suppressive fire.

The base building is intriguing, too. Against an enemy that primarily wants to cut you apart in close quarters, building a series of barricades and defenses to funnel your enemies into kill zones seems like the thing to do. Perhaps Extermination will become more of a thinking person’s FPS, with an equal emphasis on strategy.  Even if it doesn’t, it should be a great opportunity to blast some bugs into goo.

Though we don’t have many concrete details yet, it’s exciting to see an experienced developer take on such a rich and distinctive setting. 

• Looking for great multiplayer titles? Here’s out list of the best multiplayer PC games.