The partnership will deliver fans new installments in the popular survival sandbox universe, starting with Dark Faction, the first ever expansion to the original Empyrion – Galactic Survival.
Funcom and Eleon Game Studios announced today a new partnership that will give the Empyrion developers freedom to focus entirely on development of future Empyrion projects, while Funcom contributes with funding and publishing services. Besides a new unannounced Empyrion title, the two companies are also bringing Dark Faction, the first ever expansion to the original game, to Steam and Epic Games Store on February 6, 2024.
The small international development team is based in Lausanne, Switzerland and have worked on Empyrion – Galactic Survival, the galaxy-spanning survival sandbox game, since 2015, continuously improving and expanding the experience. Since then, well over a million players have survived on a multitude of varied planets and built their own entirely custom spaceships to explore the mysteries of the galaxy. Now, with Funcom taking the reins on publishing, the team has been free to pursue even more ambitious additions.
In Empyrion’s first-ever Expansion, discover a terrifying threat to the entire galaxy: an almost indestructible organism driven to spread and take over any life it touches. The brand-new scenario explores a darker side of the Empyrion galaxy, plunging you into an intense survival story from the get-go while also providing an improved onboarding experience. 
Dark Faction is perfect for both newcomers and veterans of Empyrion alike, offering new mechanics, including improved melee combat, new materials to build with, and mysteries to discover.
“Working with the team at Eleon Game Studios is a real privilege,” said Erling Ellingsen, Chief Marketing Officer at Funcom. “As a developer and publisher of open world survival game ourselves, Empyrion has been a favorite among many at Funcom and we’re excited for the opportunity to help Eleon expand this universe. Not only with Dark Faction, but also with even bigger things in the future.”
Eric Lucas, one of Eleon Game Studios’ founders, mentioned, “In my opinion, Empyrion – Galactic Survival has not yet reached its full potential. With Funcom’s deep expertise in survival and space games, they are the perfect partner to allow us to scale up the Empyrion universe to its complete original vision with a big step up in quality. We are really delighted and proud to work with Funcom’s great team on what’s to come!”
With Eleon Games’ entire team devoted to development, they are also preparing for their next flagship installment in the Empyrion universe, and with Funcom’s recent publishing record, including Shiro Games’ Dune: Spice Wars and The Outsiders’ multi-award winning Metal: Hellsinger, thrusters are blasting at full power towards the future of space-faring survival.
The Dark Faction Expansion for Empyrion – Galactic Survival launches on Steam and Epic Games Store on February 6, 2024.
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