Drifter Coming to PS4 and PS Vita

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Drifter Coming to PS4 and PS Vita
Drifter Coming to PS4 and PS Vita

While growing up I was always fascinated by space exploration and I was especially fond of the many video games set in space such as Frontier, Starflight, and Privateer. In fact, it’s long been a dream of mine to take all of what I enjoyed about those sorts of games and try and create my own game in the genre. Drifter is that game, and now I’m happy to say that another dream of mine is being fulfilled now that Drifter is coming to PS4 and PS Vita.

A Massive Galaxy To Explore

Drifter is an open-world, sandbox, space trading game with a procedurally-generated galaxy 100,000 light years across, made up of tens of thousands of star systems to explore and features an original soundtrack by composer Danny Baranowsky. In the game you take on the role of a spaceship captain attempting to eke out a living among the stars by trading goods between star systems, hunting pirates for bounties, mining asteroids for valuable ore, or even becoming a pirate yourself.

In addition to this huge sandbox, Drifter will also feature a hand crafted series of story missions which the player can embark upon to both advance their character as well as learn more about the back story of the Drifter universe.

Player Agency Is Key

In a game as expansive as Drifter, especially because almost everything is procedurally-generated, it’s our job to try and make the game world feel alive and give the player as much choice as possible when it comes to how they might want to play the game. To that end, we are designing Drifter to support a multitude of play styles which cater to as many people as possible.

Drifter on PS4 and PS VitaDrifter on PS4 and PS Vita

For those who want to take a more peaceful and serene approach to making their way through the galaxy, we offer things like classic space trading, crafting, salvaging, exploration, and mining. As for those who prefer to use their ship’s weapons to make a living, we offer such things as bounty hunting, combat, and escort missions, and even piracy if you feel like running afoul of the law. In addition to this you’ll also be able to develop your pilot’s skills to get the most out of whatever profession you choose to pursue.

A Dream Fulfilled

On a more personal note, when I was younger and originally thinking about making my own games I remember reading in a magazine about a special PlayStation development kit for hobbyist game developers. That kit was called the Net Yaroze and at the time it made me realize that making games for consoles was within my reach, and I wanted one desperately. So much so I’m sure I probably wore out the pages of that magazine the number of times I read that article. Sadly I was never able to get one so that dream remained just a dream, or so I thought at the time.

Today, thanks to the amazing developer relations people at PlayStation and their support of independent developers such as myself — despite being nearly 20 years later — I’m proud and honored to finally say that I’m making games for PlayStation.

Drifting There

Despite being a huge undertaking these past few years and still under development, Drifter is closing in on completion and early feedback seems to indicate that people are already really enjoying the game. I can safely assume that the finished whole will be even better. That said, I hope that once it finally arrives on PS4 and PS Vita that it is welcomed by the community as a worthy addition to the PlayStation family.

I’m excited to share this news with you and I hope at least some of you are equally excited to learn about Drifter. Please feel free to ask any questions about the game you might have below!

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51 Comments

11 Author Replies

  • looks fun

  • This is right in my wheelhouse.

  • Congrats Colin, been following the game since I first discovered the Kickstarter. Looking forward to seeing this on Playstation!

    Go Newfoundland!

  • Colin, this looks great. I was a huge fan of Starflight back in the day, and like you always dreamed of making my own game like it. Congrats on fulfilling your dream, I’m looking forward to playing it!

  • Oh wow, this looks great.

  • How has this gone under the radar for so long. This looks amazing. I am honestly stunned.

    The 2D indie barrage was tiring, and suddenly a 3D open-world space game? Uhh, yes please.

  • This looks great! Will it have cross play between the PS4 and Vita. I have both and would love to be able to play at home then pick up where I left off with my Vita. Really looking forward to getting this one!!!!

  • So glad to hear your story. Best of luck on a successful launch!

  • This game looks so awesome. Can’t wait. Do you have a twitter we can follow for updates?

  • OMG Colin!!!! That is awesome news bud!!!!!! Remember me? Ara from ffxi ;) Really proud of you and your work bro, keep programming!

  • This is something that I can look forward to gotta luv the shooters cool beans.

  • Looks amazing. Love these kinds of games and knowing I can play them on PS4/Vita finally is instead of only on PC even more awesome.

  • Wow, this looks great. Thanks for bringing it to Vita!

  • Awesome! Do you have a release date yet??????

    • Not yet! Trying to get the game finished first. I’m hoping it’ll be out on PS4 and Vita before the year is out though :)

  • Feels like Elite, Frontier and Privateer. I’m so sold !

  • Drifter looks very interesting, can’t wait to hear more and glad it’s coming to the PlayStation 4 and Vita!

  • Privateer and Starflight are two of my most favorite games. In fact, I still have my Starflight 3.5″ floppy (along with star chart) and recently just picked up a copy of it for the Genesis. Great, great game.
    So my expectations are high for this one. I’m really looking forward to it.

  • Thank you for the information. I will be looking forward to exploring the galaxy in my own way!!

  • You had my curiosity at Vita, my attention at space game, and my desire to want the game at Cross-Buy. Looks like everything is on a 2-D plane, solving that nasty controls problem maybe? Can we get some more Vita specs? Like if it’s Native Resolution?

    • Hey! Yeah it’s 2.5D (originally it was going to be top-down but then I realized it looked really great from behind and the rest, as they say, is history) and it should almost certainly be native resolution.

  • Looks great. I spent huge chunks of time on space flight games in the 90s so I’m def looking forward to this game. Controls look tight, the choices look interesting for jobs… how does the trading take place? is there any character interaction? or all menu driven?

    • Thanks! The trading happens primarily in stations where you buy and sell goods at the commodity exchange though there will also be special NPCs you can find lurking around who offer goods that are difficult (or illegal!) to obtain elsewhere. I’m working on a NPC communication system so you can actually interact with other ships.

      I actually have a high level Development Roadmap done up for the game if you wanted to check it out over here: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Development_Roadmap

  • Curious is this multiplayer online? Maybe i missed it aomewhere. Game looks great and fun btw.

  • Looks awesome. Ever play Escape Velocity? I loved that game so much, and I’ve been trying to find something like it for years. Your description reads just like what I imagine EV would have evolved into. Definitely on the radar.

  • Oh, how I wish this was free-to-play…With my usual gaming budget per month, I should finish my to-buy list about several years after the Vita has died off.

  • I’m always down for outer space type video games and I am definitely getting this on the PS4. It looks really amazing and I can’t wait to play it!

  • This reminds me a lot of Galaxy on Fire 2, but this seems like it could be a lot better, how does it differ?

  • Unique.

  • I was wondering what happened to this game, glad to see Playstation supporting the project. The new trailer looks amazing!

  • Hey Colin,

    Awesome! Awesome! and again AWESOME!!! Job!!!

    I am ready to pre order right now!!! Please can you get your game and your video on the PS4 store (Some games are on there and won’t be releasing until late this year), and then add new videos once or more a month (i.e. video game footage, developer video blog etc..) I want to show this off on my big HDTV so my friends can see it and dream of adventure in space like we did when we were kids.

    I now have seen my top 10 game of the year for me. I will be pre ordering as soon as you and Sony make it available.

    Cheers!!!

    Graf

    P.S. I also love the background music Danny did a great job!

  • Is there going to be a beta.

  • I am really looking forward to this game. This genre has been ignored for far too long!

  • Cool to see this one on PS Systems and thx for Cross-buy!

  • Definately interested in a flight game.

    Used to love Afterburner, and StarFox. Do not see to many, and Ace Combat is not very good.

    Cross Buy is a huge plus, though no t surewhy PS3 seems to be starting to be left out.
    If it is at a decent price, I will be sure to check it out, although I tend to wait for PS Plus sales.

  • Its a shame I can not get the video to work on my Vita :(

  • OMG! I have been waiting 10 years for Escape Velocity to be remade! Thank You Thank You Thank You! Can not WAIT!

  • Maastersplinter

    How can I be apart of the beta???

  • Will it be free

  • I just watched the video and would like to buy this game as soon as possible. Now to actually read the post. lol

  • I love space exploration and combat. I am looking forward to this.

  • YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! I want this game. RIGHT NOW!! It reminds me of Freelancer on PC. I have always wanted to just fly around in space on console. I can do that in this game? Take my money. I need this game. I seriously cannot wait. I look forward to hearing more.

  • wow this sounds awesome. Thanks for the Vita love!

  • First Strike Suit Zero, now Drifter! I am so excited to see space games again, after a long and unpleasant hiatus.

  • This looks great and I’m looking forward to it. The last good space combat type game I played was Tachyon, something like 15 years ago. Since it’s so big please do what you can to make sure you can transfer saves between the PS4 and Vita. That way we really can spend more time exploring. I’m already kinda planning my strategies, use the small screen Vita time for mining/trading to make some $$ & use the big screen PS4 for the more combat oriented parts so you can see the enemies better…

  • Looks awesome. I have been waiting for a game like this. Definite purchase for me. Yessssss!

  • Are there any plans on changing up the UI a bit? I ask because it seems like it covers way too much real estate on screen. All four corners have either a large circle or a rectangle with info on it. Scaling it down would make it look a lot nicer imo.

    • The HUD is scalable and I have a UI designer who is going to give everything a once-over before we launch :)

  • Yes, yes, yes! Everything you said in that article is close to my own experiences and love of the space genre. High Fantasy and Modern Day settings are so prevalent in the industry, I’ve been dying for something…otherworldly. Lately, I’ve seen a trend in many developers, from indie to larger studios, moving past the tired tropes and retreads of Medieval fantasy and modern day crime, to start creating more games set in the future. I’m more than just a little excited by this. And I will definitely pick it up for the Vita and PS4.

  • @Colin Thanks for response! That’s actually great news. I just want to be able to see more of the game rather than the HUD getting in the way. Really pumped for this.

  • Funny enough, I’m really getting into my Vita so this is something I will definitely play on my Vita!

  • Could the game release this summer?? Please that would be so awesome im desperate for this game.

  • This looks great.

  • Could the game release this summer?

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