Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison earned her nickname as a bomb disposal expert for the Global Defense Force. When transhumanist cult mastermind Dr. Jadus Heskel unleashes a cybernetic army on Neo DC, Shelly decides it’s time to start chucking bombs rather than diffusing them.

Her journey will leave trails of blood and gore in huge, multi-path levels filled with those famous colorful keycards and plenty of secrets and Easter Eggs to discover behind every corner. There’s also no regenerating health here, so stop taking cover and start running and gunning. Honestly, Ion Maiden should probably come out on three hundred floppy disks.

Shelly’s quest to take down Dr. Heskel’s army will see her use an arsenal of weapons, all with alternate fire modes or different ammo types. Her signature revolver, Loverboy, brings enemies pain and players pleasure with single shots, or Shelly can fan the hammer Old West style. Shotguns are fun, but tossing grenades down their barrels and firing explosive rounds is even better. Bowling Bombs are just as violent and over-the-top as one would hope.

Ion Maiden laughs at the idea of constant checkpoints and straight paths through shooting galleries. But just because this is a true old-school first-person shooter doesn’t mean there won’t be all the good new stuff the last two decades have brought. Headshots? Hell yeah. More physics and interactivity? You betcha. Widescreen, controller support, and Auto Saves? 3D Realms and Voidpoint took the best of both worlds and cooked it all into a bloody stew.

3D Realms and Voidpoint are proud to bring back the Build engine, which powered Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, and Shadow Warrior, in all of its hand-crafted pixelated glory. They’ve spent a lot of time tinkering under the hood to take advantage of new technology and techniques. Bigger levels, hundreds of new colors, and morphing maps that transform mid-level are all just a few of the advancements made to the engine.

Originally planned to fully launch in Q3 2018, both 3D Realms and Voidpoint want to make sure the blood-soaked guns-blazing shooter meets the same level of polish as other FPS classics from 3D Realms and decided to delay Ion Maiden until early 2019.

As a gesture of goodwill, old-school multiplayer and big boxes are back, baby. Limited to only 500 units, each Ion Maiden’s Founder’s Edition runs for $99.99 (not including shipping) and will be individually numbered. The most prized possession within harkens back to the past: the full game contained on a floppy disk with a retractable USB cable (no need to bring back that dusty floppy drive in the garage). This way Ion Maiden’s old-school aesthetic feels right at home.

"We wanted Ion Maiden out as soon as possible, but it has to be the best it can be,” Frederik Schreiber, Vice President, 3D Realms. "But this extra time means we can make this awesome Big Box edition and add multiplayer at launch, so we hope players understand."

The Founder’s Edition will also include:

• 6’’ Bombshell Figurine
• Ion Maiden’s Original Soundtrack
• Ion Maiden Mousepad
• Key Art Poster
• Bowling Bomb Stickers
• Lanyard
• 3 1:1 Scale Key Card Magnets
• A “Coming Soon from 3D Realms” Catalogue Highlighting Exciting Upcoming Projects

With only 500 copies in production, these won’t remain available for long. 3D Realms has prepared a pre-order page with a real-time counter denoting how many copies remain. Additional merch is available at the bottom of page. Anyone who purchased Ion Maidenvia Steam Early Access can buy this special edition at a 10% discount by going to 3D Realms’ store page.

Key Features:

• The true successor to classic shooters such as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood.
• Built using the original "Build" engine, with additional enhancements to further improve the technology.
• Beautiful hand-crafted artwork, built using original old-school tools and methodologies.
• 7 exciting Zones, each spanning multiple maps.
• Tons of enemies, weapons and carnage!
• Best of both worlds! ION MAIDEN brings back the classic '90s FPS action you love, with modern additions such as physics and checkpoints.
• Classic level design, no procedural generation! Expect multiple paths, cool effects, and complex set pieces!
• True tracked module music!
• Incredible weapons with alternate firemodes!
• Easy access to development tools and modding (Steam Workshop) on day one!
• ... And about Multiplayer... Stay tuned

Ion Maiden is available on Steam Early Access ($19.99) or on 3D Realms' website ($17.99).