Enslaved and forced to fight in mysterious arenas, the players must survive trial after trial, or face the consequences of their new power mongering master. The more they survive the more they learn about the dreadful purpose of the arenas. Their only ally is their mysterious mentor whose spirit is trapped in an orb. He has no empathy for the weak, yet he often holds the key to success and spiritual growth.

Besides battling the many enemies, the players must work together to control their Spirit Mentor, by calling him to their side, and unleashing the many powers of the ancient shrines. Or use his immaterial essence to bypass obstacles and unlock the devious contraptions of the arenas.

“We’re super excited to be working with the newest console technology, and we are really happy to be able to let a whole new group of potential gladiators experience our game, “says BetaDwarf CEO Steffen Kabbelgaard.

After an incredible production, that included living illegally in an unused university classroom, a team working for no pay up front, a Kickstarter, and personal loans as security, Forced launched in October 2013 to great reviews and sales in excess of 150,000 copies. And now, BetaDwarf and Xbox are coming together to bring the game to the next console generation through ID@Xbox, the self-publishing program for independent developers on Xbox One.

“Forced has been built from the ground up to support twin-stick controls, as well as online and local multiplayer, so the transition to console is completely natural. And with Xbox One, we won’t have to worry about shortage of computing power,“ he adds.

There is still no firm release date for the Xbox One version of Forced, but BetaDwarf CEO Steffen Kabbelgaard says, that the process will be “significantly faster” than the development of the original version of the game.

Key Features

• Gladiator Setting: Forced takes place around a smoldering volcano, where the gladiatorial pits have been built to test the resolve of fighters, and entertain the masses.
• High Customization: Each player must not only chose from a multitude of skills, but also look to combine the abilities of their team, to create their unique killing-combo-style. No skill choice is permanent, and the players can freely change both weapon and spec to counter the ever-changing trials.
• The Spirit Mentor: Forced features a completely new and innovative cooperative mechanic, named the Spirit Mentor. It is essentially a player controlled extra party member, with special powers and an ethereal form, which the players must control in unison.
• Big Bad Bosses: The game will feature many boss battles, each designed to test the limits of your skills and creativity.
• Cooperating Monsters: The enemies makes use of a special tactical AI system, which enables them to work together. They will make use of each other, either by enhancing the strength of their allies - or using them as fleshy shields.
• Specially Designed Arenas: Taking place in every setting from the fiery depths of the volcano, to the wind-swept tops; and even in the corrupted glades surrounding the base. All with unique mechanics; such as the all-zapping Life-Ender Beam, or the Choking Mist.
• Transparency: We promise no random values will be used. This means no unlucky rolls and misses in this game. Additionally all ability information will be available to help you create the perfect gladiator.
• Cooperative Combat System: Forced features a new co-op mechanic named marks, which allows all players to place a mark on an enemy, enhancing the strength of any one of theirs' abilities against that target. Furthermore, players’ attacks deliver a certain amount of knockback and often players must time and combine their attacks to knock down a big enemy before he regains his balance.