New release: Drox Operative

Steven Peeler writes in to announce that Drox Operative has just been released.

For those of you unfamiliar, Drox Operative is a sci-fi, outer space take on the Diablo-alike subgenre. It features procedurally generated galaxies, procedurally generated quests, and ever-evolving factional alliances to navigate in real-time. Here’s the plot premise:

Eons ago the Drox ruled the galaxy through their mighty Operatives. These elite starship captains were trained to accomplish the impossible at whatever cost necessary. Whether employing stealth or brute force, they were always deadly. Using these Operatives, the Drox built a starlane system for quick travel amongst the stars, colonized and conquered millions of planets, and ruled the galaxy with an iron grip for over 100,000 years. Eventually realizing their Operatives were a threat, they attempted to assassinate all of them. They failed. The following Galactic Civil War was devastating.

Thousands of years later, the Drox are extinct, but the secretive Drox Operative guild lives on. They have learned their lesson though: loyalty to any one race is foolish. They now work for whoever can pay. And pay they do! Empires might span hundreds of planets and thousands of ships, but when a critical task arises, they still turn to an Operative.

In the new space race, the major races are scouting, colonizing, and expanding, trying to take over the galaxy by diplomacy, technology, war, or any other means their scheming minds can contemplate.

As a Drox Operative it’s NOT your job to manage all of those annoying people, build thousands of buildings, play nice with your enemies, or balance the budget. It IS your job to pick the winning side and maybe even help them conquer the galaxy if you’re being nice, more importantly though is to rake in as many credits as possible, well that and build the coolest, deadliest ship in the known universe. Not many screw with an Operative captaining a Dreadnaught!

Here is a trailer showing what some of this looks like:

In addition to a near-limitless variety of single player scenarios, Drox Operative offers co-op multiplayer. Pretty cool, all in all.

Drox Operative is available right now for $19.99 direct from the developer; that $19.99 nets both a Windows and a Mac version of the game. There’s also a free demo to try before you buy, available right here.