A surprising space multiplayer game from Keepsake Games published by ID@Xbox

It may be the big companies that make the headlines, but it’s the indie games that have the power to move the gaming industry forward. This may not be the best time for the industry, but Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program seems to be hitting the nail on the head with the indie projects they plan to launch. Last week we had a closed meeting where the ID@Xbox program presented a new multiplayer action game called Jump Ship from Swedish Keepsake Games, and it simply blew us away.

But let’s not rush too much. The presentation we attended, and the subsequent Q&A session with director Filip Coulianos, was extensive and began with an interesting trailer where we saw a group of four players explore this space action shooter with ship control, first person missions and resource management. The goal is to complete missions through space and on the surface of planets and structures such as space platforms where we collect resources and collect weapons to improve our character and our ship, which can also be controlled as a team. The first impression of the first-person action was somewhat similar to No Man’s Sky’s co-op mode, but soon both the gameplay and the speed were much more reminiscent of the recent Helldivers 2, only much more open.

Jump ShipAs I already hinted, it also has an element of space travel and combat. This was the least we got to see in the presentation, but it looks like each of the four squad members will control one of the ship’s systems as we battle the AI. Upgrading the ship will be the core of the progression, and the developers likened it to the character building system in the Diablo series, with different levels/colors for each part for rarity and perks.

But what was most surprising was how the gaming experience felt. The video showed a four-player game with an open mic, where the players gave each other instructions to solve simple cooperative tasks and quizzes, as well as coordinated when threats appeared on the screen. It felt like a lot of fun, and everything on the screen had a sense of speed and a certainty that they have put a lot of emphasis on how such multiplayer games look. Although I mentioned other titles earlier as the first reference that came to mind, the game’s director said that the main inspiration for the gameplay was taken from Left 4 Dead, so you can also get a rough idea of ​​what Jump Ship’s gunfights are like. Unfortunately, we didn’t get an answer to our question to the team about the existence of friendly fire, but now that the game is publicly available, hopefully we’ll know more about it.

Even though Keepsake Games only consists of ten people, the title they showcased shows production values ​​that are almost AA worthy. And although Microsoft is responsible for the release, there is still no confirmation of when the game will arrive or which platforms have been confirmed. Expect Xbox (and Game Pass) to be on the list in addition to the obvious PC, but we’re sure this will also be stamped in the pass for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 access.