Bohemia Interactive, the Czech studio behind the Arma games and DayZ, announced a brand-new game on Thursday, one that blends real-time strategy combat with first-person shooting action. Called Silica, the hybrid RTS/FPS is coming to Windows PC via Steam Early Access thanks to Bohemia’s incubator program.
Silica was “mostly developed” by a single person, Martin “Dram” Melichárek, who was the lead developer behind Take On Mars, Bohemia Interactive said in a news release. The game will let players take on the roles of Commander in RTS mode, overseeing their forces from a orbit; or as a boots-on-the-ground Infantry soldier who can control all units and vehicles along, with their personal arsenal, in first-person view.
Silica promises three gameplay modes:
- Strategy, described as the flagship game mode where players battle for dominance by building, harvesting, and attacking their enemies. The mode combines RTS and FPS elements and is playable in up to three-way conflict between factions.
- Prospector mode, which is pitched as a tutorial for Silica. In first-person single- or multiplayer, players are tasked with exploring the area in search of harvesting the precious material Balterium. Get in, get out, in this objective-focused mode.
- Arena, described as a “crazy,” “unbalanced FPS free-for-all.”
Silica will launch on Steam “soon” and will be available in an early access period of 9-12 months, Bohemia Interactive said.
The first-person shooter/real-time strategy hybrid genre is beloved, but somewhat underrepresented in game, due to its complexity. But standouts in the FPS/RTS space are some of PC gaming’s best, and include the classic Battlezone, Natural Selection, and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.