Exoborne is an eye-catching new tactical open-world extraction shooter for PC and consoles, built in Unreal Engine 5 by team members who worked on Ubisoft’s The Division.
It’s a fresh IP from Sharkmob, the studio founded in 2017 by core members of The Division team, now working across two studios in Malmö and London. The developer’s first project – battle royale Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodhunt – shut down in May, after failing to find an audience.
Tonight’s reveal at The Game Awards offered us a brief glimpse of Exoborne’s post-apocalyptic world, set in a ruined southeastern US now filled with apocalyptic-looking tornadoes, lightning and sandstorms.
Ahead of this evening, Eurogamer was given a quick glimpse at actual gameplay, which offered a better look at how Exoborne will play. As a human character in exo-rig suit, you’re dropping into the middle of that post-climate change world, following a failed global plan to stop its effects through the construction of what looks like atmosphere-scrubbing towers.
(Speaking to me, Sharkmob assured that these towers would not act as Ubisoft-style points you had to climb and unfog the map.)
You and your fellow players – known as Reborn – need to work together to secure resources and defeat enemies in an open world that seems to be a super-sized version of The Division’s Dark Zone. It boasts some impressive verticality, which you’ll navigate using a grapple hook and parachute.
There’s no levelling up to acquire skills: if you want to do more damage you need to find, craft or modify a gun. If you want to be more powerful, you need to do the same to get a better exo-rig.
And to do all that – to secure weapons and upgrades – you need to successfully extract back to safety in order to secure what you’ve claimed as your own.
Whether playing solo or teaming up in a group, the usual extraction shooter risk/reward gameplay is in play – with personal missions, group missions and dynamic public events.
Sharkmob is currently remaining tight-lipped on its story, but says that Exoborne will let players experience their own storyline individually, with your journey through the world with others then contributing to your understanding of it.
The key hook here – and what I’m most intrigued to see more of – is Exoborne’s impressive-looking weather effects that will change up gameplay. (And yes, I’m told you can die simply by being struck by lightning). Exoborne’s world will feature multiple maps to explore, offering different biomes with varying resources.
Lastly, Sharkmob has confirmed the game will be a premium release – and not free-to-play. Expect to hear more of Exoborne next year.
