Offworld Industries‘ Project Lead Peter Maurice walked through how Starship Troopers: Extermination has grown since early access and what players can expect next, including a major Company Progression system and a new Air Strike Side Objective arriving with Update 1.8.
Development began on the project in 2019, the game entered early access in 2023, and fully released in October 2024. Maurice says the team has leaned on player feedback while shipping a steady cadence of updates, delivering seven updates this year alone and adding new maps, modes, enemies, weapons and free content drops. The studio behind the game is Offworld Industries, and Maurice framed the project as a long haul: build deep cooperative systems, keep adding content, and listen to players. He described the via (DualShockers) core loop as a mix of base building, objective play, and heavy waves of Bugs that force squads to lean on each other.
On progression, Maurice outlined a new Company-level system that rewards groups rather than just individual players. As detailed in our story outlining Update 1.8, companies will be able to level through more than 50 tiers to unlock emblems, frames and other cosmetic rewards, and Companies can expand roster slots so squads can grow. Mechanically, Update 1.8 also adds the Air Strike Side Objective. Maurice explained this will let players call in Tac Fighters while still maintaining their Fleet Array in the field, creating a momentary strategic choice between calling support and preserving field infrastructure.
Beyond big new systems, Maurice said the team keeps iterating on balance and quality of life after hearing reports of server and gameplay issues. That follows a string of fixes and hotfixes earlier in the year that patched damage stacking and other problems; a recent hotfix is one example of those incremental fixes. Maurice was candid about the studio’s limits and ambitions. He called scope management the team’s biggest hurdle and said creating a large-scale co-op title with a relatively small independent studio forced frequent trade offs. Still, he emphasized the iterative approach and the value of community clips, Galactic Front Live events, and direct feedback in shaping new content.
On creature design, Maurice said the team starts by asking which Bugs from the films would fit the game’s roles; if a film Bug has no clear gameplay role, the team will design a new creature that expands the game’s lore and mechanics.
“From all of us at Offworld, thank you for fighting the good fight. Your support, creativity, and enthusiasm have made this journey unforgettable. Keep building, keep blasting, and keep proving that the only good bug is a dead bug. We’ll see you on the frontlines!” – Peter Maurice
Leave a comment with your thoughts on Company Progression below!
Starship Troopers: Extermination
Developed by Offworld Industries
Starship Troopers: Extermination drops up to 16 players right into the fight against the Bug menace in this co-op first person shooter. Suit up and ship out to a far-off front as a Trooper in the Deep Space Vanguard, an elite Special Forces group within the Mobile Infantry. It’s up to squads like yours to battle against hundreds of bloodthirsty insectoid aliens and take back fallen colonies for the Federation. The only good Bug is a dead Bug!
- Genre: Shooter, Indie
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release: 2024-10-11
- Publisher: Offworld Industries
-
Age Rating:
PEGI 16 / PEGI 12 / CLASS_IND 12 / ACB M / USK 16 / GRAC 15+ / CLASS_IND 16 / ESRB T / ACB MA 15+ / CERO D
- IGDB Rating: 60.0/100
