At the PC Gaming Show Most Wanted 2025, 11 bit studios announced that The Alters will be released sometime in 2025 for PCs and consoles, launching on Game Pass from day one. Meanwhile, the developers have also just released a free demo that lets gamers check out the intriguing sci-fi survival game right now.
While the basic premise of crash-landing on a hostile world is not at all new, the rest of it is. In The Alters, as suggested by the title, protagonist Jan manufactures alternate versions of himself that originate from decisions he made in the past. These Alters help him repair the mobile base towards the ultimate goal of getting the hell out of that blasted planet, but dealing with them isn't always easy, as they have their own personalities and needs.
In an interview with Wccftech from last May, Lead Designer Rafał Włosek explained the inspiration for The Alters:
There was a lot of brainstorming in general, but we always had this idea about creating a game about how our lives could go if we made different decisions. This was slowly getting more and more concrete when we were talking about it and finally figured out that we wanted to have a game where the player could actually experience meeting a different version of himself who made this different decision.
Then we thought it would work great in a sci-fi environment, where you could use many different sci-fi technologies to achieve effects that are not so easily achieved in real life, for example. And then, well, there was also this idea about making copies of your own self and interacting with them.
Chris Wray got to play it and became a lot more interested in the game following the hands-on session.
All in all, I'm interested. I started my time at 11 Bit studios with nothing. No knowledge, hype, or excitement for The Alters. I left with a game that I am looking forward to and fully intend to play, either reviewing it or purchasing it upon release. If that isn't a sign of something, nothing is.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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