In recent years, a co-op game has almost always come out in January or February that appeals to a large audience. This year, we may have another contender.
Do we welcome each new year with a hugely successful, affordable co-op game? Perhaps it’s because in January we can still spend our Christmas money, and we’d rather meet up with friends than relatives, but the first few months of the year are always dominated by surprisingly big co-op successes. In February 2021, Valheim was the hit with 502,387 concurrent players, while February 2023 saw Sons of the Forest reach 414,257. In January 2024, Palworld dominated with 2,101,867 concurrent players, and last February Repo reached 271,571. What about 2022? Lost Ark peaked in February with 1,325,305 concurrent players, though it is a free-to-play MMO. Still, the trend largely holds true: at the start of the year, a major co-op hit almost always appears on Steam. These games are typically inexpensive, priced at €20–30 instead of €70, and are often early access titles built around survival and base building.
StarRupture, a cooperative sci-fi base-building game from Creepy Jar, the creators of the excellent Green Hell, launches today on Steam in early access. The base price is just $20, and to celebrate the release, players can take advantage of a 20% discount, dropping the price to $16. For a brand-new game, even in early access, this is a pleasant surprise. The game includes many elements co-op fans love, such as building bases with friends and hunting strange monsters (in this case, alien insects). Fans of Satisfactory will also be able to create and manage massive supply chains, as well as build and expand automated factories.
The game has a lot going for it: a large map filled with intriguing sights in the distance that invite exploration, a compelling presentation that hints at the many survival and crafting possibilities, and an alien star in the sky that may eventually explode. Could this be the big cooperative hit that kicks off the new year?
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