Small Impact and Team17 banded together for Marauders, a unique take on the hardcore looter shooter space that games like Escape From Tarkov absolutely dominate. However, what set apart the game when the Marauders release date came and went, is how it takes the action to space. Yes, that’s right, this game lets you become a brutal space pirate.
With backing from more than 3,000 players on crowdfunding website Fig, Marauders became much more than just a project that came to life in the middle of the pandemic. Thanks to the backing of Team17, Small Impact showed genre veterans and newcomers just how impressive Marauders could be during in an early access phase. Now, you can also get a piece of that action.
Marauders release date
Marauders was released on PC via the Steam storefront on October 3, 2022. The Marauders release date came after a rigorous period of playtesting, which saw over 3,000 players provide feedback for developer Small Impact. Since then, Small Impact has maintained contact with these backers.
Small Impact continues to grow the game with new updates, like the Marauders Plunder update that launched in August 2023. Like Escape From Tarkov, this update introduced a wipe for all players, meaning that everyone would be starting again to reign over the space wastelands.
It also added the Raider mode, which Small Impact described as a mode “where around 6 solo Marauders (masquerading as raiders) are provided with a free loadout and the chance to find deadlier gear. With only 10 minutes of oxygen, you must decide to dash for the escape pods or die trying.”
Marauders early access
Before Marauders officially launched on Steam, Small Impact and Team17 is launched a limited-time period of early access to entice players. The first closed alpha took place on Steam on May 4, 2022.
The first closed beta began on July 20, 2022, and finished on July 25, 2022. Anyone who pre-orders the game will have access to this beta, as well as another one that’ll take place in the summer.
Marauders platforms
Marauders is only available on PC. The game has not been confirmed for console, although in an interview with The Loadout, Small Impact’s Cameron Small says that the game would be current-gen only (Xbox Series and PlayStation 5) if the developer decided to port the game.
“I’d want to stretch the power and push the multiplayer graphics,” he says. “I’m basically saying PS4 and Xbox One won’t happen. It also wouldn’t be cross-platform – I don’t think I’d ever be on board with PC players fighting console players.”
Marauders trailers
The first Marauders trailer was released for the game’s announcement in March 2021 and shows players trying to escape a ginormous spaceship from shooting them down. It also shows players using escape pods and entering points of interest on foot, as well as gunplay.
The second was released for the game’s first closed alpha and shows off yet more space shenanigans and shooting in raid locations.
Since then, numerous updates have been implemented into the game, starting with the Ace update trailer that released in November 2022.
This was followed by the Red Baron update, which added a Legendary boss fight into the game, the first of its kind in Marauders history.
Marauders’ is still striving, and updates like the Excavation update in July 2023 completely add new layers to the game. Alongside another new boss, this update included, according to Small Impact, a “brand-new raid set in an industrial mining vessel constructed to capture passing asteroids and extract their valuable resources. Players will be able to trade blows and bullets around its hulking steel innards, then descend its depths to pillage new gear from a labyrinthine system of caves built within a hollowed-out asteroid.”
Marauders setting
Marauders is a dieselpunk game set in an alternative history universe. The finer details are a little sparse, but we know that Marauders in the early 1990s, in which three factions are fighting in space. Apparently, the Great War never ended in this world, hence why your arsenal is full of familiar weaponry.
Marauders Maps
If you’re struggling to find your way around the Marauders map, you’re not alone. Sadly, there aren’t specific maps for the space portion of the game, since the world is procedurally generated each game. However, the Mine, the Spaceport, and the Damaged Capital Ship are set locations and can be learned – although you’ll have to rely on community made maps for this outside of the game.
Marauders factions
There are multiple warring factions in Marauders and you can work with them all simultaneously. Each faction has their own traders, which you can buy and sell goods from, as well as take on missions.
You can improve your reputation with each faction by taking on and completing in-game missions. This will reduce the cost of items by a small percentage.
The Marauders factions are:
- United Allies
- Kingdom Alliance
- Central Empire
- SAS
- Marine
- Security
- Commando
- Pirates
If you’re interested in the game, but aren’t quite sure whether it is worth buying just yet, make sure to check out our Marauders preview for our thoughts on the game. Or, you can also check out our list of the best FPS games available.
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