New sci-fi shooter Polaris announced

Polaris Team, an offshoot of award-winning developers Variable State, has announced a brand-new sci-fi shooter called Polaris. Announced via a stunning trailer at IGN Live Showcase today, it features high-flying 4-player action, PvE multiplayer, and fully destructible environments. Set to release on Steam later this year, players will soon be able to participate in a beta playtest soon by signing up to the game’s official newsletter.

Polaris takes place in a region of space overtaken by a ruthless force known as the Regime, where players must reclaim their homeworlds and raze every last enemy stronghold to the ground. Battles take place across meticulously detailed, entirely destructible environments: whole cityscapes, wild forests, and even the planet’s very terrain can be destroyed throughout the game’s intense PvE match-ups. Banding together as superpowered freedom fighters, players will execute guerrilla tactics to take back their territory, flying through dynamic open levels, destroying enemy infrastructure, and unearthing the coveted mysteries that drive the Regime’s war of conquest.

“Since I first played Bullfrog’s Syndicate Wars, I’ve always dreamed of working on a game which featured hi-tech squads of futuristic soldiers, causing mayhem and destruction in an original sci-fi setting,” said Jonathan Burroughs, Creative Director at Polaris Team. “Sprinkle in a deep appreciation for the Halo series— particularly its blend of on-foot and in-vehicle co-op action— and you can begin to get a sense of what we hope to achieve with Polaris.

We’re only a small and scrappy team of 11 people, but have been plugging away at this project since early 2023. Aided by the tools and technologies of Unreal Engine 5, Polaris Team has built a tight 4-player PvE combat game with a dynamic, destructible environment, set in our own unique sci-fi universe. With the release date arriving later this year, the team and I couldn’t be more excited to share Polaris with players worldwide!”