Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core

In Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, players delve into the core of Hoxxes IV, either alone or in groups of up to four. Following an incident that cuts off a mining operation on the planet, it is up to the Reclaimers - an elite dwarven corporate security force - to race against the clock and restore order. Players take on the role of the Reclaimers and travel down through the levels to close the Rift Gate.

In order to achieve this, players must first select one of the five available classes: Guardian, Spotter, Falconer, Slicer or Retcon. Each class has its own specialised capabilities, ranging from electrified falcon drones and powerful melee attacks to armour restoration and time jumps. Female dwarves are also available for the first time, including bearded ones. Rather than starting with a full loadout, players start with almost nothing. Immediately after descending at the start of the mission, they can select a primary and secondary weapon. Then the time pressure begins on every floor of the run. Reclaimers must work quickly to breach and secure each mine while meeting mission requirements and racing against the clock. Those looking for an even faster-paced challenge can try the Gauntlet missions. Fortunately, a highly visible cable always marks the path to the elevator that takes players to the next level of the run.

As they progress deeper, players battle all kinds of enemies and collect Expenite, which they can give to the robot assistant, Ellis, in exchange for valuable upgrades. Some of these upgrades are drawn from a shared pool. This is where disputes may arise within the group, as players must decide quickly who gets what. Not everyone will be happy about that. All team members must also gather for such upgrades, but this is clearly communicated. While players have to meet up for upgrades via Expenite, this isn't the case for Bio-Boosters (hacking minigame) or Workbenches (search-and-find), which are available at every level. This inconsistency could have been handled better. Moreover, the game always clearly indicates what needs to be done on each level before facing the boss. Completing a mission usually takes around 45 to 50 minutes.

However, exploration and mining are kept fairly brief in Rogue Core. The same goes for the variety of objectives. Teamwork is important too, but not as crucial as in DRG, where the tasks in the mines are more diverse. Much of the game focuses on combat, and aside from changing side missions, there's not much else to do — especially when under time pressure. Although it plays like a classic shooter with roguelite elements, it still lacks decisive and exciting upgrade options that allow for significant and drastic changes to creative builds over the course of a run. The upgrades so far feel rather tame, since they're mostly just stat boosts.

Rogue Core is a spin-off of Deep Rock Galactic, not a sequel. It is intended to appeal to a different audience and to coexist alongside DRG. The gameplay is very different from that of Deep Rock Galactic. It's faster-paced, with a timer on each level, so it's impossible to complete every side objective before time runs out. The baseline difficulty is more challenging and the game is more intense. Combat is much more prominent, and the cave generation is more linear. Ammo is also much more limited, and players don't need to fight every enemy, but rather rush through the level while drawing enemies behind them. While DRG focused more on traversal and terrain modification, Rogue Core involves fighting in and around industrial structures in the caves.

Beyond runs, Reclaimers can drive in-game progression by completing Intel tasks/objectives to unlock higher Clearance Levels at the Mission Terminal. Higher Clearance Levels are required for more challenging missions and new biomes, as well as to activate resources and equipment in mining facilities - effectively side-missions. Aesthetic and tactical improvements can be earned through the Enhancements, Pickaxe and Loadout terminals located aboard the Ramrod, the game's hub spaceship. Beer is also available on the space-faring rig, but this must first be unlocked by completing calorie-burning challenges. Players earn Reclaimer Points when they complete missions (or die trying), which unlock Merits and Enhancement Chips. Merit points can be spent to unlock upgrade slots for the character build and Enhancement Chips can be used to unlock upgrades for these slots. This enables players to start runs with boosted stats, and as they progress, they'll unlock more upgrades and sockets. This is the roguelite progression System.

"Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core has been a passion project for the team, and we're glad to see that enthusiasm shared throughout the Deep Rock Galactic community. We're giving miners a brand new way to interact with Hoxxes IV, and we can't wait for them to see the Company in a completely new light." - Mikkel Martin Pedersen, Co-Founder of Ghost Ship Games and Game Director of Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core

Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is being developed by Ghost Ship Games, a Danish game development studio founded in spring 2016 by six developers who had worked together in Copenhagen for many years. The founders are Søren Lundgaard (CEO), Mikkel Pedersen (CCO), Henrik Edwards (CTO), Robert Friis, Jonas Møller (Technical Director) and Philip Mygind (Lead Programmer). To date, the team has grown to 54 people. Ghost Ship Games' motto is simple: Co-op First. Their debut game, a cooperative first-person shooter featuring space-mining dwarves, was released on Early Access in February 2018 and was fully launched in May 2020. According to Alinea Analytics, the game has sold over 11 million copies across platforms and boasts a large, friendly community. Numerous content updates have been released for Deep Rock Galactic over the years, with new game content made available for free and funded by paid DLC packs containing cosmetic items.

In February 2024, Funday Games' spin-off, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, launched in Early Access and quickly reached one million sales. The game was fully released on 17 September 2025. It has also recently been expanded with the release of the Heavy Duty Expansion. To allow Ghost Ship Games to focus more on the development of Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, the team has started a partnership with the Danish developer Invisible Walls (also based in Copenhagen), who took over the seasonal maintenance of Deep Rock Galactic in mid-2025. They specialise in creating social games in which social interaction forms a key part of the experience, and the cooperative aspect of Deep Rock Galactic fits in well with that.

Ghost Ship Games has been part of the Swedish video game developer and publisher Coffee Stain Group since 2021, which became an independent public limited company in December 2025. In February 2023, Ghost Ship announced the launch of its Ghost Ship Publishing division. Among the titles they have published are SpellRogue (Guidelight Games), Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (Funday), and Guntouchables (Game Swing). Also in the portfolio are the co-op, top-down tactical shooter DarkSwarm from Bitfire Games; Flask, a roguelike autobattler about alchemical greed from Chop Chop Games; and the highly promising looking Dinolords from Northplay, which combines real-time strategy, city-building and action RPG combat - and yes, features dinosaur armies. There is no specific release date for the upcoming games yet.

The game is co-published by Ghost Ship Publishing and Coffee Stain Publishing. Coffee Stain is a game developer, publisher and investor with offices in Skövde, Stockholm, Malmö, Trollhättan and Gothenburg. Since its foundation in 2010, Coffee Stain has been responsible for Goat Simulator, Sanctum Games, A Story About My Uncle, Satisfactory and most recently Huntdown: Overtime. The company is also the publisher of popular games such as Deep Rock Galactic (Ghost Ship Games), Valheim (Iron Gate), Songs of Conquest (Lava Potion) and Midnight Ghost Hunt (Vaulted Sky Games), which were developed by external teams. Coffee Stain was part of the Embracer Group for a long time, but in December 2025, as part of the company's restructuring, the Coffee Stain Group was listed on the First North Premier – Nasdaq Stockholm.

Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core launched on 20 May 2026 in Steam Early Access for $29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99. The soundtrack is available for €9.99, as is a Supporter Upgrade containing cosmetic items for €14.99. Depending on player feedback, the developers estimate that the game will remain in Early Access for 18 to 24 months. A Living Early Access Roadmap is expected to follow in the coming days.

Conclusion

Rogue Core is quite different from Deep Rock Galactic, but it will need time to reach its full potential. In its current Early Access state, the game unfortunately lacks variety and creative synergy between classes, as well as an alternative game mode that doesn't involve a ticking clock. Much of it feels overly cautious. But that's exactly what Early Access is for. The foundation is solid, but there's definitely room for improvement.

Features

• Co-op FPS action roguelite featuring sci-fi dwarves
• Harder and more intense
• Bigger focus on combat and variations