Relic Entertainment has announced Earth vs Mars, a new shlocky turn-based strategy game they now have in development.

Earth vs Mars is in development for Windows PC (via Steam) with a release set for sometime this summer.

Relic Entertainment was keen to note the new game is their first release under their new indie-style Relic Labs team. The goal with their smaller internal team is to produce games that vary from their traditional, “big bread-and butter” RTS games which they will naturally continue to develop and support. Relic Labs will also explore new sub-genres, experiment, and get “their creative juices going, and release games more frequently.”

Here’s a rundown on the game, plus its reveal trailer:

Martians have been visiting Earth for decades, abducting animals and humans and harvesting their atomic essence to create bizarre Martian-creature hybrids. This time they’re here to claim our planet. 

In this turn-based strategy game, an unlikely group of commanders will lead Earth’s military as they face an overwhelming Martian invasion. Fight high-tech saucers, grav-tanks and elite alien warriors in a battle for the planet’s survival. 

Your secret weapon is the “Splice-O-Tron”. With it, you can combine human “volunteers” with Earth creatures to create powerful hybrid supersoldiers to fight alongside Earth’s regular military. 

Rain acid from the skies with the fast-moving cheetah-fly. Charge through enemy lines with devastating human-rhino hybrids. Or strike from the forests with your deadly squirrel-cow infantry.  

As the campaign progresses, you’ll unlock new types of creature, powerful unit upgrades and game-changing commander abilities. But as your army evolves, so will your enemy’s, and you’ll face everything from the sentient organic weapon known only as “The Creep” to the Martian’s own mutant creations. 

Key Features

• Single Player Campaign – Earth vs Mars will feature an expansive narrative focused campaign composed of over 30 hand-crafted missions.
• Online Multiplayer – Battle against other commanders, either as the armies of Earth or as the forces of the Martian Invaders. Lots more info to come!
• VS Mode – Battle against the AI on custom maps giving lots of replayability to single-player fans
• Map Editor – Fully featured Map Editor allows you to create custom maps and scenarios. Again, more info to come in time!
• Splice-o-tron – Bringing some old-school Relic flavor to this genre, the Splice-o-Tron will be a key mechanic in the game. Combining creatures with human “volunteers” will allow you to field an array of exciting and powerful hybrid units.
• Unit Abilities – Many of the Units in Earth vs Mars will have their own unique abilities, adding new strategies and gameplay depth to this style of game
• Commanders – There will be multiple commanders in the game, each bringing passive and active abilities that enhance the way you play
• Beautifully realized 3D world – We’re excited to bring 3D units, tilesets, and stunning effects to turn and tile-based players in Earth vs Mars