Since its initial release into early access in 2018, Deep Rock Galactic has quickly started blowing up among the indie crowd as a top quality multiplayer, first-person shooter. However, now that the players can get the game on console, and as one of last months included PS Plus titles, developer Ghost Ship Games is looking to see how much further the title can expand from its original PC release.
Developer Ghost Ship Games has now announced a partnership with Moon Publishing, which will work towards getting Deep Rock Galactic's frantic mining gameplay translated into the form of a tabletop board game. While the idea of a Deep Rock Galactic board game had previously been floated in 2021, this is the first confirmation of both the publishing route Ghost Ship Games will be taking.
To get the major announcements in gear, Ghost Ship Games has announced an upcoming Kickstarter campaign that will offer exclusive rewards and give fans the chance to support the developer throughout the process. Those who wish to support the Deep Rock Galactic board game project will be able to do so starting February 10th, when the Kickstarter campaign will go live with three tiers of backer rewards available. The available tiers are set to be a basic backer that will be rewarded with a copy of the game, a deluxe backer that will have a version of the board game that comes with miniatures for the monsters instead of cards, and then the collector's tier will have the deluxe board with extra merch.
From the early materials that have already been shown, the board game is starting to look about as good as the virtual title does, with miniatures of the Deep Rock Galactic dwarves and a modular game board. The developer has also commented in a post on the Deep Rock Galactic steam page that this tabletop title has undergone quite a few levels of playtesting to refine the rules and create extra variants for added difficulty. With the Kickstarter launching so soon, it would appear that Ghost Ship Games is confident that the board game will be able to bring the same frantic feeling that players enjoy in the original version.
Considering the nature of the procedurally generated levels in Deep Rock Galactic, this seems like the perfect fit for a modular board game with map pieces that are discovered and placed as the game is played. This could keep all the tension and exploration intact, even when the game is brought to the generally more steady atmosphere of tabletop gaming. Fans of the original might want to keep an eye out for February 10th, when the Kickstarter releases and those first few copies of the game are up for grabs for backers.
Deep Rock Galactic is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox One.