🔬Abiotic Factor

Scientists survive an alien invasion using desk staplers and improvised laser cannons.

9.4 / 10

1–6 players

🔨Survival + Craft💥Chaos

Players

1–6

Released

Jul 22, 2025

Developer

Deep Field Games · Playstack

Price

$34.99

Multi-playerCo-opOnline Co-opLAN Co-opCross-Platform MultiplayerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportDualShock Controller SupportDualShock Controller SupportDualSense Controller SupportDualSense Controller Support

Six scientists trapped in a Half-Life-style underground research complex after everything goes sideways. Craft weapons and tools from office supplies, barricade doors, hold down a base, and push deeper into increasingly unhinged zones of the facility. The 90s sci-fi setting is the gag and the sincerity at the same time — your PhD specialization matters. Overwhelmingly positive; full 1.0 launched July 2025.

More from Steam →

Roadmap About the Game Home to the world's greatest minds, GATE operates a global network of secretive research laboratories, spanning every field of scientific study - and the realms beyond. As a GATE employee you extend the bounds of human knowledge, and seek to explain the unexplainable - including anomalies and paranormal entities: from gravity-distorting artifacts to supernatural creatures with an unbridled instinct for violence. Safety, security, and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually. After a catastrophic containment breach, your workplace has become a cosmic battle zone: anomalous entities are on the loose, enemies from other dimensions are invading via portals, and an arcane military sect - known as The Order - is targeting personnel and entities indiscriminately, aiming to seize artifacts and put an end to the chaos. Containment procedures have failed and help isn’t on the way. Stranded miles beneath the surface, it’s up to you and your fellow scientists to band together, plan your escape, and make this underground complex your new home - for now. Abiotic Factor brings a 90’s sci-fi twist and rich character progression to the multiplayer open world survival crafting genre. Up to 6 players can choose their PhDs, build their scientist, gear up, and explore a massive subterranean complex, filled with supernatural artifacts, transdimensional foes, and science experiments gone awry. Between alien threats hunting their next meal, trigger happy soldiers, and the world’s most advanced robotic security forces attacking personnel working overtime, there’s no shortage of danger. As a scientist, fighting isn’t your forte, so you’ll need to put your PhD to work to outwit your opponents: craft ingenious and outlandish tools, weapons and gear, from simple nets and wooden bats to laser-cannons and elaborate traps - everything your big science brain can muster! Make yourself at home - you’re here for the long haul. Scavenge resources from vacant offices and empty labs, raid vending machines, and steal company property to build a new base of operations as you explore the facility. When it’s time for a change of scenery, pack up your belongings and move them across the facility using handcarts, forklifts, SUVs, teleporters, and more. Don your lab coat and earn your PhD: from Phytogenetic Botanis…

Open in Steam

🎮This one plays better on a pad — our pick: Xbox Wireless Controller

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Quickstart

How to actually play this with friends — written by Claude.

## Set it up - Install via Steam; host co-op straight from the main menu, no dedicated server needed for a squad of friends - Vanilla already supports the full 6-player roster, so skip hunting for a cap-raising mod - Pick your PhD specialization together before you dive in — Biology, Engineering, and Security all unlock different crafting trees, and overlap wastes a slot

## Your first session - Spend the first hour on basics: craft a stapler-melee weapon, scavenge nearby rooms, and barricade a rest spot before nightfall-equivalent facility events kick off - Split duty early — someone scavenges office supplies for crafting, someone else starts securing a base room with barricades and turrets - Don't push into a new zone alone; the facility ramps up fast once you're past the first few rooms, and stragglers get picked off

## Group size advice - Six is the full design — enough scientists to cover crafting, base defense, and exploration without anyone idle - Three to four is comfortable too, and still lets everyone specialize in a distinct PhD track - Even solo works if you want the survival-craft loop without coordinating anyone else's schedule

Gear picks

Gear up for Abiotic Factor

🎮

A controller for the party gamesPhysics chaos, sports slop and couch-style co-op play better on a pad. Works with Steam right out of the box.Our pick: Xbox Wireless Controller →On a budget: GameSir G7 SE →

🖱️

A wireless mouse that won't die mid-raidSurvival-crafting and extraction runs are long. A light wireless mouse with a long battery life keeps you in it.Our pick: Logitech G305 Lightspeed →

🎧

A headset your squad can actually hearProximity chat is the whole game. Hear the footsteps behind you, and stop the crackle that gets you muted.Our pick: HyperX Cloud III →On a budget: Razer BlackShark V2 X →

🎙️

A USB mic for the shot-callerIf you're the one making the calls (or lying through social deduction), a desk mic beats any headset boom.Our pick: FIFINE AmpliGame AM8 →On a budget: TONOR TC310 USB microphone →

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