Steam Demo Out Now! POLARIS Sci-Fi Extraction PvE Shooter Has New Look!

Today, Polaris Team (an offshoot of award-winning indie developer Variable State) announced that its PvE co-op shooter with fully destructible environments, POLARIS, will be a participant in Steam Next Fest, lasting from Monday, October 14th until the event’s conclusion on Tuesday, October 22nd. Players interested in experiencing this first entry into the world of Polaris can download the demo now via the Polaris Steam page, and below, check out the explainer trailer to guide your entry into battle!

Since the game’s reveal at IGN Live this past June, Polaris Team has been hard at work in the development process, refining the core gameplay mechanics and exploring a more stylized visual aesthetic. The demo featured at Steam Next Fest will highlight these central components, including a dynamically destructible environment, flying abilities and co-op shooter-action. Players will also be able to offer feedback, coordinate multiplayer sessions, and discuss their POLARIS experience in the newly launched Discord. 

The in-game infrastructure of POLARIS can be toppled, blown apart, and otherwise destroyed over the course of every match. The same is true of the natural environments and terrain upon which they’ve been constructed. Whether decimating skyscrapers or burning craters in the earth, players will find that the world of POLARIS is intricately destroyable, leading to a reactive and ever-evolving combat environment with each new match. 

The newest game from Variable State, POLARIS marks a new frontier for the studio following the success of its BAFTA-winning mystery adventure Virginia. Led by Polaris Team, a new division within Variable State, POLARIS channels the developers’ shared passion for the craft and techniques of PvE game design. Featuring former members of studios such as Creative Assembly, Splash Damage, Ninja Theory, Rebellion & Cloud Imperium, Polaris Team is using their substantial collective experience in the realm  of multiplayer combat action to create a game centered around refined PvE mechanics, team-oriented gameplay, and dynamically-destructible settings. 

Team up with your most trusted comrades to liberate your home system’s planets and lay waste to your oppressors — the demo for POLARIS is available today, the Discord community is now live! For more information and news related to POLARIS, visit the official website,  Twitter page, or sign up to the POLARIS Newsletter.

About Variable State & Polaris Team

Variable State is the award-winning game studio owned by Jonathan Burroughs, Terry Kenny and Lyndon Holland.

Virginia is the studio's debut game, released in 2016 and published by 505 Games. The game was nominated for multiple awards, including 4 Independent Games Festival awards and 3 BAFTA awards. Virginia won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Writing in a Video Game. Virginia's composer and studio co-owner, Lyndon Holland, won the 2017 British Academy Games Award for Music.

Last Stop is the studio's second game and was published by Annapurna Interactive.

POLARIS, the studio’s third game, will be self-published and released in 2024.

Sarah Dawson: [email protected]

TJ Anhorn: [email protected]