'Space Crew' wants you to defend Earth against aliens (and you can try it free right now)

The new sci-fi strategy game "Space Crew" wants you to explore the galaxy while fighting off an alien threat. What's more, it's a sequel to the popular World War II game "Bomber Crew."

An early version of "Space Crew," by Curve Digital and Runner Duck, is available (albeit briefly) as a free demo on Steam through June 22. The game is billed as a successor to 2017's "Bomber Crew," but set in space rather than on an Earth-based battlefield. The full release for "Space Crew" is expected this fall for PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

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The developers took their inspiration from numerous space-themed movies when creating their own new universe that "Space Crew" gamers will explore. Some challenges gamers will encounter include alien boardings, running out of oxygen, fires aboard their spaceships, system failures and the risk of crewmembers getting blown into space. The game's goal is to emphasize teamwork to overcome adversity, even when negative things happen.

"We at Runner Duck have always been huge fans of sci-fi movies like 'Alien', 'Star Trek', 'Interstellar', and 'Star Wars', said Dave Wingrove, Runner Duck co-founder, in a statement. "We had so much fun crafting 'Bomber Crew', we just couldn't wait to explore all the possibilities a far future setting would offer. Recruiting your crew for typical space sci-fi positions and then sending them out on missions into the perilous depths of space is an ideal theme for the 'Crew' series."

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.