New Space MMO Roguelike Puts 1000+ Players in One World

Roguelikes such as FTL: Faster Than Light and Spelunky have done critically and commercially well, and since their successes, a lot of similar games have appeared. Now, a developer has decided to do something pretty ambitious with its take on the genre: combine the permadeath of roguelikes with an MMO.

Spilt Milk Studios recently announced Lazarus, a top-down space exploration and survival game that can have a thousand or more players in one server. It's not clear exactly how the roguelike elements of the game work; Lazarus's website states that it "turns back in on itself every week like some kind of ultra-futuristic Ouroboros."

This implies that the game won't feature individual permadeath like FTL. Rather, the world might reset for everyone every week.

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The developer describes the game as an "action-oriented sci-fi twist on Groundhog Day where thousands of players survive together in a huge persistent real time world, where dogfights, foraging for resources, and exploring exciting new tech combine into a tumultuous 'MMO Roguelike.'"

People will be able to get their hands on the game soon: it's getting a free closed beta on August 12 that you can sign up for at the studio's site.