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And now for something completely different. The just-revealed Serious Sam: Shatterverse presents co-op, roguelike action.
Time to get Serious again
One of the genre’s longest running series’, Serious Sam has been around for decades at this point. Croteam’s hard-hitting hero has seen it all too, including a ludicrously wide-ranging assortment of enemies, weapons, and locales. But, that said, he’s never teamed up with… himself. And that’s just what Sam will be doing, in Serious Sam: Shatterverse.
From Dead by Daylight’s Behaviour Interactive, Serious Sam: Shatterverse goes deep into the multiverse to bring Serious Sam’s together for some co-op play. That’s a first for the property right there, though there’s more. Not only will this new title be a co-op affair, it’ll also be a roguelike.
That’ll play into the multiversal angle of the game, as players will battle across “shifting universes”. While that’s a lot of ‘new’ though, there’s one big holdover from the mainline series. Well, besides Sam himself, we mean. If you guessed it was arch-foe Mental, you’re on target.
Serious Sam: Shatterverse is a co-op FPS where five players can team up, blast through shifting universes, stack wild boons, bend the rules with run modifiers and hunt the deadliest forces of Sam’s relentless arch-nemesis, the villainous Mental.
Mental’s maniacal machinations have fractured the walls between universes, and now Sams from multiple dimensions must learn to work together to repair the Shatterverse. You’ll travel across shifting universes to finish battles other Sams couldn’t, fighting alongside alternate versions of yourself to defeat the big bad’s five nefarious lieutenants.
Devolver Digital press release
Lots of new elements, but it still sounds like Sam
“Seeing Shatterverse come to life is a really big moment for us,” says Croteam’s Davor Hunski, co-creator of Serious Sam. “It’s very exciting to see another talented team step in and create something bold, fresh and different within the universe we cherished for so long. I can’t wait for both the old and new fans to experience this new interpretation of the series!”
“Our main goal was to respect Serious Sam’s rich legacy while presenting it in a fresh, contemporary way unlike anything seen before in the series,” says Behaviour Interactive’s Nic Duchesne. “Working with Devolver has been an incredible, enriching experience for our team. The folks there are real renegades of the video game publishing world: they always put the game first and aren’t afraid to carve their own path.”
Devolver Digital press release
Publisher Devolver Digital promises a “a big, loud, stupid and frankly irresponsible arsenal of weapons” for Serious Sam: Shatterverse. You’ll see some old favorites mixed in with those, but there’ll be new hardware as well. And it looks like players will need the help, given that the game doesn’t sound like it’ll be going lightly on enemies. Hordes of foes of all sizes and kinds storming the battlefield? Yeah, that’s Serious Sam alright.
But it’s not all monsters in this multiversal mayhem. According to the press release, fans can expect to see “unstable anomalies, hidden portals and high-risk opportunities”. Engaging with these elements and living to tell the tale could “supercharge a run”. Of course, on the flip side, it could also end one on a dime. It’s looking different for sure, but Serious Sam: Shatterverse seems like it might carry the spirit of the series nicely.
Look for plenty more on this latest blaster as we head towards its release later this year (2026) for the Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC. Want to see more in the meantime? Click here for the official site.
