Silica is an immersive blend of first person shooter and real time strategy, each true to its respective genre. The game allows players the freedom of choice, without forcing them to play as both.

In Silica, players can choose to play either as a Commander in RTS mode, or as an Infantry soldier who gets to control all units and vehicles along with their arsenal in FPS. Their mission on this seemingly barren planet is simple: locate and harvest Balterium, an element with a tremendous amount of untapped potential that can power up the human civilization for generations to come! Silica is the first title born in Bohemia Incubator – a new label of Bohemia Interactive aimed to help indie game makers develop and introduce their dream games to a global audience.

If you prefer sand-filled boots, bullets whizzing overhead, and menacing alien jaws closing in, the infantry role is for you. Not limited to merely foot-based soldiers, you can also take control of any available vehicles, including the colossal Harvester, the speedy Light Quad, or the insidious Siege Tank, just to name a few. Or, if chewing metal is your niche, then the hive-mind, insect-like aliens are your faction of choice. Shift your consciousness between creatures such as the stealthy Crab, the nimble Hunter, or the armored Goliath.

For those who'd rather command their forces from a distance, the esteemed role of Commander awaits you in the relative safety of orbit. Deploy Harvesters to silica crystal fields, hiding the valuable resources you're after. Construct and place immense structures to produce and dispatch units that will dominate the battlefield.

The game offers variety in terms of game modes. Strategy is the flagship game mode of Silica. In this mode, players battle for dominance by building, harvesting, and striking the enemy. Strategy mode seamlessly combines both RTS and FPS elements and is playable in any combination, up to a 3-way conflict between factions. Prospector mode acts as a tutorial for Silica. It is offered as an FPS, which can be played in single or multiplayer mode. Players start off near a landing pod and are tasked with exploring the area in search of a Balterium field. They will encounter enemy forces along the way and must complete all the objectives in order to make it out alive. The third mode - Arena - introduces a fun and crazy environment where players select their favorite unit and face off in an unbalanced FPS free-for-all.

Silica is now available in Steam Early Access ($19.99), and will stay in early access for 9-12 months during which time lead developer Martin "Dram" Melichárek plans to implement a number of significant expansions and features based on the community requirements.

“At the moment, the game has two fully playable game modes: Strategy and Arena. Strategy is the flagship game mode where players take on the role of Commander, experiencing classic real-time strategy gameplay, or Soldier, bringing an FPS twist to the genre. The Arena is a chaotic pure FPS shooter mode that allows everyone to try all combat units.”

“During Early Access, we plan to continue polishing the current game modes and adding more content, such as more combat units, and also to improve the gameplay as a whole.”

Key Features

• First/third-person shooter with vehicles
• 6 unique locations
• 3 engaging game modes
• Singleplayer and multiplayer options
• 5 infantry classes
• 11 distinct vehicles
• 8 alien creatures
• AI control for both commander and units

Silica is in development for PC (Steam), scheduled for 2024 at $24.99.