Phobos Down Steam news

• Latest observed playersNot available
• SteamPulse tracked peak1
• Units sold (VGI)No data available
• Revenue (VGI)No data available
• Review score100% positive
• Total reviews9
• Release dateDec 7, 2025
• DeveloperFRACTiLE Games
• PublisherFRACTiLE Games

Genres: Action, Indie

Company pages: Developer: FRACTiLE GamesPublisher: FRACTiLE Games

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Phobos Down Steam news

Phobos Down news collects recent Steam feed items, update posts, and announcements that SteamPulse can associate with this app.

Latest Steam announcements

• Phobos Down Goes Free - 17 September 2026

  Starting from October 1st, Phobos Down will be 100% free on all supported platforms!If you would still like to support my game development work, you can buy the game at 75% discount right now or you can wait until October and get it completely free.The main reason for this change is very low sales. I never expected to make a profit but I wanted to learn Steam publishing and perhaps get some small compensation for my efforts. Currently, it's just not worth the required time and bureaucracy.I'm very thankful for the people who bought the game so far and I hope you don't feel betrayed by this change.I will not stop making games for good. In foreseeable future, I will continue working on my small games and likely releasing them for free.

• Version 1.0.2 is here - 20 April 2026

  You might wonder what happened to version 1.0.1. It does exist but because it was mostly about enabling the mobile version and improving the arcade cabinet version, I skipped the update on PC. This version now contains all the changes done since version 1.0.0.Changes from 1.0.0 to 1.0.1:Fixed errors in log when starting game runs without challenges from server.Log usage statistics (arcade build only).Show possible update message from server in main menu.Show notification in main menu if a new version is available.Enlarge fonts and scale UI elements properly in mobile mode.Moved equipment level indicator next to score indicator.Show score indicator guide texts in arcade mode too.Made guide overlays slightly translucent.Added separate guide overlay for mobile mode.Fixed info text not always getting hidden when leaving main menu.New better looking game icon.Default to low controller vibrat…

• Phobos Down is out NOW - 8 December 2025

  Phobos Down is readyThe game has been in slow development for four years since the first prototype. Most of that time, there has a been playable alpha or beta version available, first on Itch.io only, later on Steam Early Access as well. I did not get as much feedback as I had hoped but the feedback I got was constructive and helped shape the game into what it is today.The original idea was to take all the features I liked in existing twin stick shooter games and leave out everything that I felt was unnecessary interruptions to the action. I tried to make an ideal twin stick shooter for myself, a middle-aged gamer with limited time, who enjoys twin stick shooters but can't keep up with the most hectic bullet hell games, and wants to enjoy more strategic shooting action without constant panic and struggle to survive.The arcadeDuring these four years I also upgraded my old DIY arcade cabi…

• Version 0.1.1 is here - 27 October 2025

  This update focuses mostly on improving in-game instructions and guides, especially regarding high scores.Score calculation from kill events (multiple termination, termination streaks) has been changed. Now each additional kill will always increase the score bonus. Together with some other tweaks, this makes earning score slightly easier than before. Kill streak progression and final score bonus is now visualized with an indicator at the location of the kill.Message texts have been shortened and their timing adjusted so that player sees the instruction texts at the right time and has more time to read them. An additional direction indicator has been added that guides player toward the most important items like the extraction zone at the and of mission or to medical stations when badly hurt.There are also many minor visual improvements like added "juice" to score indicator, more plant va…

• Progress report - 6 October 2025

  Time for a quick progress report. After the last beta version, I've been focusing on highlighting the high score aspect of the game and trying to improve the player instructions in general.The score label at the top of the screen has been juiced up with animation and improved sounds. Last completed game run score and result is now visible in the main menu and notifications are now shown when new high score ranks are reached during the mission.Score calculation for kill streak and multiple kill events is now based on increasing multiplier instead of fixed score rewards. This is now also visualized with kill score indicators that show the kill streak progression and the final score at the location of the event.Last but not least, I have finally implemented achievements for the Steam version of the game! There are currently 11 of them.The change log is already quite long but I still have m…

• Version 0.1.0 is here - 8 September 2025

  First of all, this update includes all the improvements shown in the last progress report like movable devices and these new spiky explosive plants:There are many small visual improvements like added variation for the vegetation, lightning arcs for stun effects, fixes to shadow issues and improved anti-aliasing in the UI. First version of the full intro sequence has also been created. This update also adds three completely new enemies and a minefield creating device:One change worth a special mention is the target movement prediction for the auto-aiming. This makes hitting fast-moving enemies much easier, especially when they move up or down hills. This is something that should have been there from the start. Better late than never, I guess.I have made some significant changes to scoring. The maximum amount of enemies per wave has been decreased which shortens the average mission durati…

• Progress report - 29 June 2025

  It's finally summer, so the development has slowed down a bit as I expected. "Luckily" the summer in Finland has so far been very cold and rainy, so I have still made some progress.A small change that has a big impact on the gameplay is the ability to push devices around. The possibility to choose the target position for orbital strikes, sentry guns, etc. has been requested many times but I haven't been able to make a simple enough UI for that. I don't know why I didn't think of this before but the solution was pretty obvious: I simply made the devices movable before activation. No UI needed at all!I have tried to add some visual variation by adding multiple mesh variants for the tree-like plants and one completely new explosive plant type that shoots spikes at nearby lifeforms.Another visual improvement is the added lightning arcs for stun effect from explosions and devices.Besides the…

• Version 0.0.14 is here - 19 May 2025

  The input handling and weapon UI implementations have gone through major refactoring. This should not cause many visible changes but makes further development easier and enables touch input for a mobile version. The weapon wheel UI now uses more traditional point-and-click style interaction when playing with mouse. A lot of the work since the last alpha update has gone into adding support for ballistic weapons and aim assist that makes hitting moving targets with them possible. The old "laser sight" weapon feature has been changed into a "trajectory display" that can visualize ballistic trajectories as well. The result of all this is a new "grenade launcher" modifier for the launcher weapon. Another addition is a "fragmenting explosive" device. It is similar to the existing timed explosive device but shoots directed fragments at nearby enemies, dealing extra damage and extending the are…

• Progress report - 13 April 2025

  It has been silent here but Phobos Down project is still very much alive. I have done a major input system and weapon UI refactoring. This should not cause many visible changes but makes further development easier and enables touch input for a mobile version. Mouse aiming has changed a bit. Now the mouse cursor is always captured in-game, so you don't accidentally click outside of the window. The "constrained mouse aim" toggle has been replaced with three-level "mouse aim range" setting that controls how far the mouse cursor is allowed to move from the player. The end results is the same but a bit more customizable. Although the weapon wheel UI looks the same, it is now scalable and supports more traditional point-and-click style interaction with mouse (or touch): It was pointed out in the feedback here that the player needs to be aware of the containers outside of the camera's view. To…

• Version 0.0.13 is here - 17 March 2025

  This time the change log is a little shorter than usual but I wanted to get this update out sooner to fix some minor issues found in Steam review. There is a good amount of other improvements and additions too. Two new weapon modifiers have been added. Gliding projectiles modifier makes projectiles glide along the ground instead of hitting it, making it possible to shoot enemies while hiding behind hills: Directed explosion fragments modifier makes missile explosions launch a number of projectiles aimed towards nearby enemies and cause extra damage: Weapon modifier stats display logic has been changed to handle additive properties better. Previously the change percentages felt too random. Now 100% always means the value added by one maximum quality modifier for that property: Here are the changes since version 0.0.12: Smooth enemy burrowing sound loop pitch and volume changes. Added add…

• Phobos Down is now out in Early Access - 3 March 2025

  The time has come. Phobos Down is now available on Steam Early Access. Phobos Down has been in development for about three years and now has all major gameplay mechanics implemented. I have already done a lot of fixes and improvements based on player feedback on Itch.io and I'm planning to continue doing that with the help of wider audience here on Steam. The game has been designed with Steam Deck in mind from the start so it's really good to finally have a version officially installable through Steam. The initial game build for Steam is identical to the 12th public alpha version of the game. From here on, I'm planning to release updates simultaneously to all platform versions.

Patch notes and updates