Terminator: Survivors is an open world survival game coming to Early Access in October

01.03.2024 - 11:13 / thesixthaxis.com

Nacon has revealed Terminator: Survivors, an open-world survival game set in the iconic sci-fi franchise. The game will be coming to Steam Early Access on 24th October 2024, with a full release and console availability at some point down the line.

First teased in 2022 and in development at Nacon Studio Milan, Terminator: Survivors is an original story set in the timeline from the second film. Judgment Day has happened, and you now have a group of survivors to preserve in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Playable in solo or co-op, you’ll have lethal hazards to deal with, whether that’s Skynet’s killer robots or other humans scrounging the world for the same resources as you.

The new story is set in 2009 – a time before John Connor’s resistance has risen up against the machines – and as a survivor, you won’t initially know much about the robot apocalypse that has befallen you. However, as you build up your base and scavenge through the surrounding areas, the narrative running through the game will see you learn about SkyNet, about the emerging resistance and more.

2024 is the 40th anniversary of the cult classic original, but it’s really Terminator 2 that cemented the sci-fi setting and world in the public psyche. Since then we’ve seen plenty of films that have been…. well, let’s just say they’re films that exist. There’s also been several attempts to transform the box office successes into video game money spinners as well. Back in the 90s, that meant 8-bit and 16-bit side scrolling japes, but by the time of Terminator 3, we had 3D third person shooter efforts that had a very mixed reception. After Terminator Salvation flopped as a film reboot and as a video game tie in, Genysis and Dark Fate were accompanied instead by mobile game tie ins.

The most recent mainstream effort – outside of the Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance RTS that released last week – was Terminator: Resistance. That game was a difficult one to enjoy at launch, but patched and overhauled for the new generation of consoles with a big DLC expansion.

Of course, all of that is really by-the-by, and honestly, a survival game sounds like a pretty good fit for the universe. The genre is well-established now, so it will all be about how Nacon Studio Milan integrates the whole Terminator things into the familiar recipe for success.