Build, explore, fight and survive in a hostile galaxy full of hidden dangers. The game is unique because it combines elements from space simulations, construction games, survival games and ego-shooters. Empyrion is an unusual blend between Eve Online, Space Engineers, Minecraft, Rust and Halo - all in one package!

The search for paradise is as old as humanity. However, by the end of the 24th century, the Earth will be far from being a paradisiacal place…Overpopulation, runaway climate change and natural resource exhaustion had lead to political instability, riots and looting, war over resources, hundreds of millions of refugees, severe droughts, famines, mass extinctions of many species, and ecosystem collapse.

In the year 2402, a team of researchers discovered the wrack of a starship in the Antarctic, hidden up to this time under a thick cover of ice. Apparently, the ship belonged to a technologically highly advanced alien race and was powered by an unknown form of energy. Also a star was recovered whose symbols were similar to those used in ancient cosmologies to describe “Empyrion” – the land of plenty. The star map seemed to point to a location far away in the Andromeda Galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away.

Funcom and Eleon Game Studios announced a new partnership that will give the Empyrion developers freedom to focus entirely on development of future Empyrion projects, while Funcom contributes with funding and publishing services. Besides a new unannounced Empyrion title, the two companies are also bringing Dark Faction, the first ever expansion to the original game, to PC on February 6, 2024.

The small international development team is based in Lausanne, Switzerland and have worked on Empyrion - Galactic Survival since 2015, continuously improving and expanding the experience. Since then, well over a million players have survived on a multitude of varied planets and built their own entirely custom spaceships to explore the mysteries of the galaxy. Now, with Funcom taking the reins on publishing, the team has been free to pursue even more ambitious additions.

In Empyrion’s first ever Expansion, discover a terrifying threat to the entire galaxy: an almost indestructible organism driven to spread and take over any life it touches. The brand-new scenario explores a darker side of the Empyrion galaxy, plunging you into an intense survival story from the get-go, while also providing an improved onboarding experience.

Dark Faction is perfect for both newcomers and veterans of Empyrion alike, offering new mechanics, including improved melee combat, new materials to build with, and mysteries to discover.

New Features

• A New Story (requires new character): Wake up on a derelict ship and discover what has befallen the crew. Uncover the secrets of the Dark Faction and how to stop its spread across the galaxy.
• Dark Faction Planets: Explore a new and deadly environment that’s spreading across the galaxy.
• Dark Faction Building Blocks: Expand your creativity with a new set of organic building blocks.
• New Devices: Craft new powerful devices such as the Translocator, Phase Shield, and Corrupted Shield
• Updated Melee Combat: We’ve updated melee combat, which plays a large role from the beginning of the scenario.

"Working with the team at Eleon Game Studios is a real privilege," said Erling Ellingsen, Chief Marketing Officer at Funcom. "As a developer and publisher of open world survival game ourselves, Empyrion has been a favorite among many at Funcom and we're excited for the opportunity to help Eleon expand this universe. Not only with Dark Faction, but also with even bigger things in the future."

Eric Lucas, one of Eleon Game Studios’ founders, mentioned, “In my opinion, Empyrion - Galactic Survival has not yet reached its full potential. With Funcom's deep expertise in survival and space games, they are the perfect partner to allow us to scale up the Empyrion universe to its complete original vision with a big step up in quality. We are really delighted and proud to work with Funcom's great team on what’s to come!”

With Eleon Games’ entire team devoted to development, they are also preparing for their next flagship installment in the Empyrion universe, and with Funcom’s recent publishing record, including Shiro Games’ Dune: Spice Wars and The Outsiders’ multi-award winning Metal: Hellsinger, thrusters are blasting at full power towards the future of space-faring survival. 

The Dark Faction Expansion for Empyrion - Galactic Survival launches on Steam Store on February 6, 2024 at at $9.99 / €9.99 and Epic Games at a later point in time.

Given the increasingly desperate situation on Earth, the “United Council of Humanity” decided to focus the remaining resources on Earth on a unified effort to build a fleet of starships with the aim of establishing contact with the mysterious aliens and finding Empyrion. All ships were equipped with an alien energy cell to power their experimental hyperdrives.

Finally, in the year 2473, the fleet of starships is ready and you are the first commander of the frigate “Helios.” After you activate the hyperdrive, however, something goes wrong an unknown force takes control of your ship... Subsequent to reappearance from hyperdrive, your ship is disabled and drifts in the orbit of an unknown planet somewhere in the Andromeda Galaxy far away from the destination that was indicated by the map. You have lost contact with all other ships of your fleet. Gravity pulls your disabled ship towards the surface where it crashes.

The impact completely destroys the ship and kills the crew. You are the only survivor. Find a way to leave this hostile planet and uncover the mysteries of Empyrion. Save the Earth before it is too late!

Key Features:

• Space and planet exploration: An absolute free-roaming experience awaits you: fly across space, land on planets and walk around.
• Survival: Survival is key. Try to stay alive in a hostile galaxy. Each planet is different with its own challenges. Food and oxygen are rare – be well prepared.
• Building and construction: You can build everything out of blocks & building parts: motherships, spaceships, space & planetary stations, and facilities such as mining robots & solar panels.
• Terrain deformation: Each planet features a voxel-based terrain. You can entirely modify and deform the terrain. It’s a true sandbox game!
• Space and land combats: Empyrion features a variety of enemies reaching from wild creatures living on planets to intelligent alien races that can attack you everywhere.
• Single, multiplayer and co-operative: Besides single player, Empyrion features PvP and co-operative gameplay.
• Mining and resource gathering: For building and construction, you must gather and mine resources that you find on planets and asteroids.
• Huge galaxy and open world: The galaxy is procedurally generated and features hundreds of different solar systems, each containing several planets with their own characteristics.
• Simulation of physics: Empyrion simulates maneuverability, electricity, airflow, gravity, damage, construction solidity, and much more.
• Extensive crafting system: Using and combining resources, you can craft your own equipment and weapons.

Empyrion - Galactic Survival is available for PC (Steam).