shootmanyrobots_01I’ve been sitting on this exciting news for a few days now, so it is great to finally be able to reveal that Demiurge Studios has teamed up with Owlchemy Labs to bring Demiurge’s hit Shoot Many Robots franchise to mobile platforms.

The free-to-play game (which released today on Android) and on iOS in the near future is being dubbed an “endless gunner” by its creators. Players take on take on the role of P. Walter Tugnut as he takes on “bazillions of chainsaw-wielding robots”.

Full of explosive, robot-crushing action, Shoot Many Robots mobile has you playing as P. Walter Tugnut, who has been stock-piling guns, ammo and beer awaiting the inevitable robot apocalypse. Jettisoned from his RV, Walter barrels through farmlands and oil fields switching from lane-to-lane, while gunning down robots and picking up nuts along the way. Players build an arsenal of robot-annihilating weaponry like flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and freeze rays, while earning absurd hats to unlock special abilities.

shootmanyrobots_04 While I haven’t had a chance to play the mobile version of the game yet, I have played the original XBLA release which is level-based, with certain areas of levels gated, forcing players to defeat a wave of robots before being able to continue on. I can easily see how the game could be translated quite well into a free-to-play model endless ‘gunner’ format, as the original had an in-game store for weapons upgrades etc that would fit right in with this genre perfectly.

Since being founded in 2002, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Demiurge Studios has had their hands in a number of in major console and PC franchises and their original title Shoot Many Robots, was well received when it launched on consoles last March. The mobile release of Shoot Many Robots marks the studio’s inaugural effort in a broader mobile publishing initiative.

I am psyched that Demiurge has chosen to team up with the very talented folks at Owlchemy Labs. Their previous iOS titles Snuggle Truck, and Jack Lumber had so much polish and character that I don’t think Demiurge could have called on more capable hands for assistance in the task of creating a Shoot Many Robots title for mobile gamers.

This is what the CEOs of Demiurge Studios and Owlchemy Labs had to say about the game:

shootmanyrobots_02“Last year Demiurge Studios set out to provide fellow robot-haters with a whole new way to demolish robots – what resulted is this super-addictive endless runner (and gunner) that we are excited to turn over to the mobile masses today,” said Albert Reed, CEO and co-founder of Demiurge Studios. “It’s a simple, pick-up-and-play kind of game with unique features never before seen in an endless runner. Plus, it will make the world a better place.”

“Joining forces with Demiurge Studios has proven to be a scientific breakthrough,” said Alex Schwartz, Chief Scientist of Owlchemy Labs. “Through the combined efforts of the Owlchemy scientists and the Demiurge team, we have created an awesome game that
takes endless runners to a new level with our lane-switching mechanic, along with robust 3D environments, HD graphics, simple controls, and tons of action!”

I will be talking with the Demiurge team at PAX East this weekend and getting some hands-on time with Shoot Many Robots as well. If you have any questions you’d like me to ask them, just leave them in the comments section below.

Note that all screenshots are from the Android release, but I doubt they differ much for iOS.