What's It Like to Work on Alien Worlds? Three-Player Co-op Shooter 'Exterminauts' Debuts at Gamescom

Summary

At the Opening Night Live of Gamescom, the three-player co-op shooter *Exterminauts* made its world premiere with a first gameplay trailer, generating significant buzz among global audiences. Developed by an independent studio, this third-person PVE shooter places players in the role of "Exterminauts" — expendable employees of a quirky company who are dispatched to hazardous alien worlds to eliminate monsters and collect valuable resources. The game strongly emphasizes cooperative play: teams of three must coordinate class-specific abilities and equipment to overcome increasingly difficult objectives. The reveal demonstrated a polished loop combining run-and-gun combat, resource management, and optional base-building elements. Most notably, roguelike mechanics are woven into the core experience, with procedurally generated maps, enemy layouts, and environmental hazards ensuring that no two expeditions are alike. This design choice significantly boosts replayability, appealing to veteran players who seek ever-changing challenges. The developers have openly cited *Deep Rock Galactic* and *Left 4 Dead* as main inspirations, but they stress that *Exterminauts* pushes further with deeper class customization and a quirky corporate satire narrative. The Gamescom appearance marks the first time the public has seen actual gameplay, and already the community is debating the creature…