Most extraction shooters have you stealing loot and killing other players. Into the Fire wants you to save lives during a volcanic apocalypse instead. Developer Starward Industries announced on November 28, 2025 that their disaster extraction survival game will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam and GOG in 2026, pushing back from the original 2025 target. A playtest is coming soon for players who want to experience the unique blend of firefighting action, supernatural horror, and time-pressure rescue missions set on the collapsing Dante’s Archipelago.
Extraction Meets Disaster Response
Into the Fire reimagines the extraction shooter formula by replacing PvP combat with PvE rescue missions where every second counts. You play as a bold explorer trying to survive 30 days on an island actively being destroyed by volcanic eruptions. Each run sends you into critical zones where you must locate survivors, battle fire demons, navigate collapsing terrain, and extract before pyroclastic flows or ash storms kill you. The extraction loop remains, but instead of hauling stolen gear, you’re evacuating people and animals to your hub.
The gameplay combines high-stakes rescue operations with supernatural threats that shouldn’t exist. Volcanic demons and strange anomalies fuel the chaos alongside natural disasters, creating encounters that require tactical thinking beyond just shooting. You’ll use seismic scanners to predict eruptions, read seismographs to plan safe routes, and make impossible choices about who to save when you can’t extract everyone before time runs out.
Firefighting Arsenal and Retro Gadgets
Your loadout focuses on extinguishing weapons and survival tools rather than military hardware. The suppression pistol fires foam to cool flames, the extinguishing shotgun blasts chemical retardants at close range, and the fire bomb launcher creates controlled explosions to clear burning obstacles. You’ll also carry fireproof shields, acid-resistant boats for navigating lava flows, rope systems for traversing collapsed structures, and retro sleds for quick escapes across ash-covered terrain.
These fantastical retro inventions are inspired by pioneering volcanologists who actually studied eruptions up close. The game blends real firefighting techniques with speculative technology that feels plausible within its alternate reality setting. Every tool serves dual purposes: combat volcanic phenomena while accessing areas where survivors might be trapped. The hacha (axe) breaks down doors and windows blocking escape routes, while water tanks let you create temporary safe zones in infernos.
The Hub: Your Operations Base
Between extraction runs, you return to the Cableway old station, your central hub and sanctuary in a world of raging elements. This isn’t just a menu. It’s a living space where rescued survivors take shelter, where you craft essential survival gear, upgrade your equipment, tend to rescued plants and animals in a garden, and piece together the island’s ominous past through collected relics and survivor testimonies.
The hub evolves based on your rescue success. Save more people and they contribute to expansion projects, unlock new crafting recipes, and provide intel about dangerous zones. Fail to rescue enough lives and your resources dwindle, forcing harder choices about which missions to attempt and what gear you can afford to bring. This creates a feedback loop where successful extractions enable better equipment for more challenging rescues.
Dynamic Disaster Environments
The volcanic archipelago changes with every run. Collapsing terrain opens new paths while blocking familiar routes. Ash storms reduce visibility and damage your equipment over time. Pyroclastic flows force constant repositioning during rescue operations. Unpredictable eruptions can trigger mid-mission, transforming safe zones into death traps within seconds. The game uses procedural elements to ensure no two extractions feel identical even when revisiting the same general areas.
Environmental hazards go beyond simple damage zones. You’ll encounter fire phenomena that defy scientific explanation, mysterious forces that manipulate natural disasters, and dark rituals tied to ancient legends buried beneath the volcanic landscape. The game walks a tightrope between realistic disaster simulation and supernatural horror, grounding its mystical elements in the chaos of a real catastrophe.
Moral Choices Under Pressure
Into the Fire forces players into impossible ethical dilemmas. You can’t save everyone. When you find three survivors but only have time to extract two before the zone becomes unsurvivable, who do you choose? The elderly couple who’ve lived on the island for decades? The young mother with a child? The scientist who might have critical information about stopping the eruptions? These aren’t dialogue choices with obvious right answers. They’re tactical decisions made in real-time while volcanic demons attack and countdown timers expire.
The game tracks who you save and who you leave behind, building a record of your choices that affects how survivors perceive you. Some might refuse to provide help if you abandoned their family members. Others might offer crucial assistance because you prioritized saving their loved ones. This creates emergent storytelling where your moral calculus under pressure defines your unique playthrough more than any scripted narrative.
Why Early Access in 2026?
Starward Industries originally targeted a 2025 Early Access launch but pushed to 2026 to ensure the game meets quality standards. The developer previously created The Invincible, a narrative adventure that received critical acclaim for atmosphere and storytelling, demonstrating they understand how to craft compelling single-player experiences. Into the Fire represents a significant departure into action-focused gameplay with roguelite elements, extraction loops, and survival systems that require extensive balancing.
The upcoming playtest will help refine these mechanics before Early Access launch. Extraction games live or die on their gameplay loops, and rushing to market with broken systems would doom Into the Fire before it could find its audience. The delay suggests Starward Industries is taking the time to get it right rather than shipping an incomplete experience and hoping to fix it post-launch.
FAQs
When does Into the Fire release?
Into the Fire launches in Early Access for PC via Steam and GOG in 2026. A specific date hasn’t been announced, but a playtest is coming soon for interested players.
What is Into the Fire?
Into the Fire is an extraction survival game where you rescue people and animals during a volcanic eruption on Dante’s Archipelago while fighting fire demons and battling supernatural forces using firefighting weapons and retro gadgets.
Is Into the Fire a multiplayer game?
No multiplayer has been announced. The game appears to be single-player focused, with emphasis on rescue missions, base building, and moral choices rather than PvP extraction shooter mechanics.
What platforms is Into the Fire coming to?
Into the Fire is confirmed for PC via Steam and GOG. Console versions have not been announced.
Who is developing Into the Fire?
Starward Industries, the Polish studio behind The Invincible, is developing Into the Fire. They previously worked on Cyberpunk 2077 at CD Projekt Red before forming their independent studio.
How long do you survive in Into the Fire?
The campaign spans 30 days on the erupting island, with each day presenting new rescue missions and escalating volcanic activity that forces constant adaptation.
Can you save everyone in Into the Fire?
No. The game explicitly requires players to make difficult choices about who to save when you can’t rescue everyone before extraction time expires, creating moral dilemmas under pressure.
What are fire demons in Into the Fire?
Fire demons are supernatural enemies tied to ancient legends and mystical forces beneath the volcano. They represent the game’s horror elements, combining natural disaster simulation with mythological adversaries.
Extraction Shooters That Actually Matter
The extraction shooter genre has become oversaturated with games about stealing loot and killing other players in competitive loops that prioritize greed over everything else. Into the Fire offers something genuinely different by asking what extraction mechanics could accomplish if applied to humanitarian disaster response instead of mercenary theft. The firefighting weapons and rescue focus transform familiar extraction gameplay into something that feels fresh despite using established genre conventions. Whether Starward Industries can sustain that novelty across 30 in-game days and multiple playthroughs remains to be seen, but the ambition deserves recognition. Most studios wouldn’t risk combining extraction loops with disaster simulation, supernatural horror, moral choice systems, and base building survival mechanics in one game. The result could be a brilliant genre mashup or a confused mess that tries to do too much. Either way, Into the Fire represents the kind of creative risk-taking that keeps gaming interesting. When the playtest arrives, curious players will get their first chance to determine whether saving lives in a volcanic apocalypse feels as compelling as the concept suggests.