Survivor-likes sure have sprouted up in mass numbers, haven’t they? Not that I blame anyone—the auto-shooters can be terribly addicting, activating neurons in our slimey, grey brains as we upgrade and blast foes into oblivion. Now for all the hubbub about this subgenre, the last thing I expected to read in my inbox last week was the combination of the words “survivor-like” and “eSports” in the same sentence—but publisher Ghost Ship Publishing has indeed pulled it off with their second eSports event for developer Funday Games’ latest game ‘Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor’. We have a few fanatics of that genre within the team and you can find our review on that game over here!
Anywho, I was so impressed I had to toss a few questions their way! Below you’ll find that brief chat with the publisher about themselves, the game, the eSports event, and what they’ve been up to personally. By the time this article drops, the event will likely already be underway (if not already over) and you can check that out right below this paragraph block:
Heads up! This interview has been formatted to best fit Google’s atrocious browser standards now implemented worldwide. Like parasites except less body horror creepy and more “corpo suit boring but creepy” sort of lame. No answers nor questions were harmed in the making of this article.
Hello! My name is Genghis and I’m with the writing team over here at DayOne. Thanks for taking a moment out of your day to fill us in on a coming eSports event at Copenhagen Games Week for ‘Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor’—an event the publisher, Ghost Ship Publishing, is calling “The Greatest eSports Event in the World”.
First things first: who are you lovely people? Who is Funday and whomest is Ghost Ship Publishing?
Aaron: I’m Content Writer at Ghost Ship Games, so I spend most of my time whipping up punny content for Deep Rock Galactic and related titles. For the Invitationals, I’ll be co-hosting the commentary for in-show and online audiences.
Alex: I’m Head of Publishing and Marketing for Ghost Ship. As well as supporting our Deep Rock Galactic titles, I take care of our external devs’ marketing.
The team at Funday Games are the developers of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and finding the time to run events like the Invitationals wouldn’t be possible without them!
What is Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and how did it come to be? Some of our readers might also be wondering, “hey, isn’t that the cooperative first-person shooter? What’s that got in common with this “survivor” game?
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is what happens when you take Deep Rock Galactic and give it a single-player, bullet heaven spin. Players are dropped in to complete solo missions, collecting resources and completing goals while opening fire at hordes of enemies. The mechanics work differently, too – weapons start basic in every round, and are upgraded the more progress you make.
Ultimately, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor includes the same crew of hardy space dwarves, just with some solo roguelike flavor.
So, wait, this is a survivor-like. You know, a singleplayer auto-shooter. How in the world is an eSports invitational going to work with something like that?! How did whole thing even come to be?
The Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor – Ultimate Challenge Invitationals came about in 2024 from a funny idea to spoof traditional esports tournaments. The entire Deep Rock Galactic franchise doesn’t take itself super seriously, so we wanted an event that followed suit.
As for logistics, Invitationals contestants will be playing their own game side-by-side, in a parallel play fashion, with the audience seeing a split screen. We coordinate and sync the whole thing through Discord and Vmix. The idea is for two competitors to battle it out and last as long as possible, for as many rounds as possible, in a single run. Sprinters don’t sprint together, and neither do our competitors!
Who are our contestants and how have they been prepping to send their opponents packing? And what’s in it for them—big event and all, I’m expecting quite the prize!
We’ll reveal our contestants in full on the day, but expect to see Deep Rock Galactic veterans like OHRye, Siirvend, and ReapeeRon. The ultimate athlete will receive a sick-ass wrestling-style belt and a title to be remembered for a lifetime.
(Funday Games/Ghost Ship Publishing)
How is this event being prepared? Is this your first time hosting an eSports event, let alone something this “large”? And why during Copenhagen Games Week?
The Invitationals debuted in 2024, and this is our second rendition. But never before have we organised an esports event to be broadcast both in person and online!
Copenhagen Gaming Week just felt natural. We’re a Danish company supporting Danish developers. What better way to do that than in the capital city?
Where can I watch this event? It sounds pretty cool!
If you’re not headed down to the event, we’ll be streaming on YouTube and Twitch on Thursday, February 12th at 15:45. Mark your calendar!
What games have you lovely people been playing recently? What’s popular in the office?
I know some of us have been big into Arc Raiders these days, personally I’ve been spending a lot of time on Civilization VI. And of course, we’re playing plenty of Ghost Ship Publishing games like Dinolords, FLASK, and DarkSwarm, who are all also exhibiting at Copenhagen Gaming Week.
Anything you’d like our readers to know? Final thoughts? The floor is yours!
Just that we’re so excited for the next iteration of the Invitationals! Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor has seen 2 million sales since its launch, and it’s far from being done. We can’t wait to build the game further and foster the next generation of athletes for a potential future event…
Thank you for your time! ∎
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is available on PC via Steam/Xbox PC, iOS, Android via Google Play, and Xbox consoles—being a Day One Game Pass launch title.
