Surviving Mars will put players in charge of the first functioning colony on the Red Planet, where resources are thin, the environment is hostile, and human colonists will need to balance productivity with sanity.

Surviving Mars challenges players to plan and build a functioning colony on Mars, balancing inhabitants’ basic survival needs with sanity and quality of life, all while dealing with the hostile environment of the red planet.

Paradox Interactive announced two new free updates for Haemimont Games' survival management game Surviving Mars.

“Da Vinci,” or Creative Mode, will allow players to take more creative liberties with their Martian colonies and will launch today for PC and consoles shortly after. This update includes stress-reducing features such as buildings that do not require maintenance, immortal colonists, and a starting budget of $100 trillion.

Da Vinci features include:

• Fit as Fiddles -No need to fret over these super-powered colonists as they cannot die from starvation, suffocation or exposure. They’ll stay healthy and happy never dropping below 50 health or sanity no matter what your creative mind cooks up for them.
• More Money, Fewer Problems -Kick off your adventure with a cool $100 trillion in funding burning a hole in your rocket, no questions asked.
• A Stroll Down Easy Street -Building your dreams has never been easier with buildings that not only don’t require resources to be constructed, but also can never malfunction due to lack of maintenance.

The “Sagan” update, for the explorer who felt that surviving the inhospitable desert of Mars was simply too easy, will launch for all platforms in September. Including 24 major challenges to overcome, this update adds a new level of difficulty for the hardcore survivalist who’s ready to take a running start at everything the red planet can throw at them.

Sagan features include:

• All Outta Luck - Face 30 new major challenges in separate playthroughs each with their own parameters for success, including: sponsor, commander profile, active game rules and map coordinates.
• Not All Wins are Created Equal - You may have risen to the challenge but it’ll take a true strategist to master it. Each challenge will have an associated rating and it’ll take speed and skills to achieve an “Excellent” rating - otherwise you’ll have to settle for “Good”

Whether you like to stop and smell the barren wastelands of Mars or are raring to discover new ways to doom your dome, Surviving Mars’ upcoming updates will have adventures for every kind of player.

In Surviving Mars, players will lead a colonization effort on the surface of Mars, from the very first rovers and supply drops to the construction of suitable habitats for brave settlers from Earth. Every colonist will be vital to the mission as the colony struggles to gain a foothold where the environment is hostile and resources are scarce. With each success, however, players will gain the ability to expand further, and even establish a thriving society – and lead a new generation that has never known the Earth.

Couch colonists can look forward to ultra-high-definition visuals for their missions, with 4K support offered on both the Xbox One X and PlayStation®4 Pro consoles. For PC players, Surviving Mars will offer community-created modifications with full modding tools and support – including mods available at launch from some of Paradox’s most talented community creators.

Surviving Mars is available on Xbox One, PS4, and Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs for $39.99 on all platforms.