Atari today announced Early Access availability for Asteroids: Outpost. The sandbox, open world, multiplayer shooter is a reboot of the 1979 arcade classic, and it’s definitely not what you’d expect from an Asteroids game. In addition, Atari rolled out a new set of screenshots that can be viewed below.

Set in the distant future, Asteroids: Outpost updates the asteroid-blasting action of the original by putting players in the role of deep-space miners, harvesting rare ore and expanding their bases, while protecting themselves from deadly asteroid showers and claim jumpers.

Fred Chesnais, Chief Executive Officer at Atari, said:

“Asteroids: Outpost is bringing a completely new premise to the world-renowned Asteroids arcade shooter by combining survival and crafting gameplay mechanics in a multiplayer intergalactic setting. During the Early Access period, Asteroids: Outpost will build on the current gameplay while adding compelling new elements and expanding on the open world.”

Here are the key gameplay features of Asteroids: Outpost available at the Early Access launch:

• Tool & Weapon Crafting – Using tech and ore, gamers craft upgrades to their tools to create advanced weapons.
• Base-Building & Degradation – Serving as both a player’s mining headquarters and home, bases are easily built in a square grid pattern by crafting and connecting modular pieces.
• Asteroid Showers – Recurring showers of smaller asteroids represent both a source of wealth and a deadly threat, as players must shoot down incoming projectiles to defend their claims and harvest components from the fallen rock.
• Resource Gathering – Mine the asteroid’s surface or scavenge bases and crash sites to gather resources required to craft and upgrade materials.
• Terrain Exploration – Utilize in-game suits and vehicles to explore the lunar terrain and search complex landscapes featuring craters, boulders, cliffs and valleys, crystal formations, lava flows, gas plumes, and more.
• Attacking & Looting –Bases include resource refining equipment and storage areas that are susceptible to looting, meaning players not only need to protect the precious resources they’ve collected but they also have the opportunity to seek out and loot nearby bases.

Todd Shallbetter, Chief Operating Officer at Atari added:

“We’ve created this massive world with base-building, crafting, and blasting asteroids out of the sky and we believe this game has great potential. We also understand we need players to make this world thrive and turn this game into a super fun experience.  We want players to know the game will evolve over time and this is why we are releasing the game in Early Access.”

And here are the new screenshots for Asteroids: Outpost!