Ambitious Survival Game The Alters' Release Date Set For June 13

During the Triple-I Initiative, developer 11 Bit Studios announced that sci-fi game The Alters will launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on June 13. The game will also be a day-one launch on Game Pass for Xbox and PC.

In case you missed it when it was first announced, The Alters puts you in the boots of Jan Dolski, the lone survivor of a space expedition that ended with his spaceship crash-landing on a hostile planet. Making his way to a mobile base, Jan quickly learns that he has three days to get it moving again before the planet's next sunrise incinerates it and him. The big problem? A lack of human and mineral resources to get the base on the move again. Fortunately, Jan can clone himself, but each new "Alter" represents an alternate version of himself shaped by different choices in his life.

The more Alters you have, the better your odds of survival will be, but the challenge lies in managing a group of Jans who have unique skills, personalities, and memories tied to a different life choice. Players will also need to focus on managing their mobile base and dealing with the hazards of the world around them, as the game is a combination of survival, base-building, and exploration.

"Based on my hands-on session, it seems like 11 Bit Studios has found a way to merge these disparate genres in a way that feels elegant," Jake Dekker wrote in GameSpot's The Alters preview. "No one mechanic or system felt overbearing, and all of them had a tangible purpose that fit with the overall premise. That said, The Alters is spinning a lot of plates at once, and I feel like it could all come crashing down with the slightest push. If 11 Bit Studios manages to blend all these genres together and thoughtfully explore its themes, I think The Alters could be something special."

The Alters release date puts it in an interesting spot on the gaming calendar. It'll be arriving not long after the global launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, and the month also has other games like Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and the System Shock 2 remaster.