Leaked developer build footage of Starship Troopers: Extermination hit the internet on December 6, 2025, giving fans a glimpse at what the bug-blasting shooter looked like during its pre-announcement development phase. The footage, uploaded to YouTube and shared across Reddit’s GamingLeaksAndRumours community, shows an early version of the game from before it launched into Early Access on PC back in May 2023. One particularly interesting tidbit is a scrapped map layout that never made it into the final release.
What the Game Actually Is
Starship Troopers: Extermination is a 16-player co-op first-person shooter developed by Offworld Industries. The game spent over a year in Early Access on PC before launching its full 1.0 version simultaneously on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam on October 11, 2024. Players take on the role of United Citizens Federation troopers fighting against massive swarms of Arachnid bugs across hostile planets, building bases, extracting resources, and defending against waves of enemies.
The game features six distinct character classes including Assault, Demolition, Guardian, Medic, Sniper, and Engineer. Each class has specific roles in the team composition, from crowd control and wall repairs to keeping teammates alive during intense bug rushes. The game’s signature feature is its Carnage system, which allows hundreds of bug corpses to remain on the battlefield and physically affect gameplay. Dead bugs pile up against defensive walls, creating grotesque ramps that living bugs can climb to breach your defenses.
The Helldivers 2 Problem
Starship Troopers: Extermination faces an identity crisis because Helldivers 2 exists. Sony’s third-person co-op shooter launched in February 2024 and became a massive phenomenon, capturing the satirical military aesthetic and bug-blasting chaos that the Starship Troopers movie made iconic. Helldivers 2 sold millions of copies and dominated conversation around co-op shooters for months. The irony isn’t lost on anyone that Sony owns both the Helldivers IP and the Starship Troopers film rights, essentially competing with themselves.
Reddit users discussing the leaked footage pointed out that Helldivers 2 embodies what a Starship Troopers game should feel like, despite not being officially licensed. The comparison is unavoidable. Helldivers 2 offers tighter four-player squads with more focused gameplay, while Starship Troopers: Extermination goes for larger 16-player battles with base-building mechanics. Both games feature friendly fire, team-focused objectives, and over-the-top military propaganda aesthetics straight out of Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 satirical masterpiece.
How It Actually Plays
Reviews for Starship Troopers: Extermination have been mixed since the October 2024 console launch. IGN gave it a low score, citing repetitive gameplay and technical issues. Other outlets praised the spectacle of massive bug hordes and the satisfaction of base defense but noted the game feels somewhat unfinished even at full release. Performance on consoles has been particularly problematic, with all three platforms struggling to maintain stable frame rates during intense battles with hundreds of enemies on screen.
| Aspect | Starship Troopers: Extermination | Helldivers 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Player Count | 16 players per match | 4 players per squad |
| Perspective | First-person shooter | Third-person shooter |
| Core Loop | Base building and defense | Mission-based objectives |
| Maps | Large handcrafted environments | Procedurally generated |
| Release Status | Full release October 2024 | Launched February 2024 |
Steam Charts data shows the game peaked at over 16,000 concurrent players during its May 2023 Early Access launch but has since declined dramatically. As of December 2025, the game averages around 300-400 concurrent players on Steam, a significant drop that suggests player retention issues. The October 2024 console launch brought a temporary spike to around 2,400 concurrent players, but numbers quickly returned to baseline levels within weeks.
What Works and What Doesn’t
When Starship Troopers: Extermination hits its stride, it delivers genuine thrills. Standing on a defensive wall with 15 other players, firing into a tsunami of alien bugs while plasma strikes rain down and structures explode around you creates memorable moments. The Morita Assault Rifle has satisfying recoil and makes bugs explode in visceral ways. Engineers desperately repairing walls while medics revive fallen teammates captures the chaotic team coordination the IP deserves.
The problems emerge during the downtime between these peak moments. Matches follow a repetitive structure of gathering resources, building defenses, waiting for bug waves, then extracting. The single-player Operations mode added at launch offers 25 missions, but it’s clearly an afterthought compared to the multiplayer focus. Technical optimization remains rough, especially on consoles where frame rate drops during large battles significantly impact the experience.
FAQs
Is Starship Troopers: Extermination worth buying in 2025?
It depends on your expectations and tolerance for technical issues. If you’re a die-hard Starship Troopers fan looking for large-scale bug battles with base-building elements, there’s fun to be had despite the rough edges. However, if you want a polished co-op shooter experience, Helldivers 2 offers better gameplay, performance, and player population at a similar price point.
Can you play Starship Troopers: Extermination solo?
Yes, the game added a single-player Operations mode at the 1.0 launch with 25 missions. However, the game is clearly designed around multiplayer teamwork. Playing solo means missing out on the coordinated chaos that defines the best moments, and the AI teammates don’t provide the same experience as human players.
What platforms is the game available on?
Starship Troopers: Extermination launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and Epic Games Store on October 11, 2024. There are no plans for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch versions due to the game’s technical demands and player count requirements.
Does the game have crossplay?
The game supports crossplay between PC platforms (Steam and Epic Games Store) and between console platforms (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S). However, as of December 2025, there is no crossplay between PC and console versions, which further fragments the already limited player base.
How many people are still playing?
According to Steam Charts, Starship Troopers: Extermination averages around 300-400 concurrent players on PC as of December 2025. The game peaked at over 16,000 players during its May 2023 Early Access launch but has experienced steady decline. Console player counts are harder to track but appear similarly modest based on matchmaking wait times reported by players.
Will there be more content updates?
Offworld Industries stated they’re committed to supporting the game post-launch with additional content, including a second chapter for the Operations single-player mode. However, the declining player base raises questions about long-term support viability. The studio hasn’t announced specific roadmap details beyond general commitments to ongoing development.
Is it better than Helldivers 2?
Most players and reviewers consider Helldivers 2 the superior game in terms of polish, gameplay balance, and overall execution. Starship Troopers: Extermination offers larger player counts and base-building mechanics that differentiate it, but Helldivers 2’s tighter design and better optimization make it the safer purchase for most players interested in co-op bug-blasting action.
What’s the Carnage system?
Carnage is the game’s proprietary technology that allows hundreds of bug corpses to remain on the battlefield without tanking performance. Dead bugs physically pile up and affect gameplay, creating ramps against walls or blocking pathways. It’s one of the game’s most impressive technical achievements, even if performance still struggles during intense moments on console hardware.
The Bigger Picture
The leaked early footage highlights how much changed during development, but it also raises questions about whether the final product achieved its vision. Starship Troopers: Extermination clearly has passionate developers who love the source material. The attention to detail in recreating the film’s aesthetic, from the propaganda broadcasts to the Morita rifles, shows genuine respect for the IP. Voice acting from Casper Van Dien, who played Johnny Rico in the original film, adds authenticity.
But respect for the source material doesn’t automatically translate into a great game. The fundamental issue is that Starship Troopers: Extermination launched into a market where Helldivers 2 already existed and executed the concept better. Timing matters in game releases, and this title missed its window. Had it launched a year earlier with better optimization, it might have found a larger audience. Instead, it’s fighting an uphill battle for relevance in a crowded co-op shooter landscape where players have limited time and plenty of alternatives.