Publisher and developer ROCKFISH Games has released the final early access update for Everspace 2.

The new “Ancient Rifts” update is now available for the game, bringing back some fan favorite elements from the original game.

“Ancient Rifts is a massive addition to EVERSPACE 2, showcasing the incredible depth and range of what we believe will be the best space action game to come out in 2023,” says Rockfish Games CEO and Co-Founder Michael Schade. “We envisioned Ancient Rifts to bring back some of the crazy mechanics and challenges and that “one-more-run-feeling” of the first EVERSPACE that our space game fans loved. We can’t wait for the day when EVERSPACE 2 v1.0 drops, offering a unique mix of high-plasma action gameplay, deep space exploration, lots of activities, and an exciting campaign set in a stunning zero-G environment.“

Everspace 2 has been available in early access since January 2021 on Windows PC for PC (via Steam, GOG, and Microsoft Store). A full release is planned across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5 in early 2023. The game will also be fully Steam Deck compatible.

Here’s a rundown on the update, plus a new trailer:

Everspace 2 Ancient Rifts update

Ancient Rifts is an update that delivers on the promise from the 2019 Kickstarter campaign, where some 8,000 supporters unlocked significant endgame content for EVERSPACE 2.

Much like in the original EVERSPACE, where players could increase the difficulty for each run and pick handicaps between sectors in Hardcore mode, they can now ramp up Lunacy before opening a rift and picking a portal with different modifiers leading to the next stage to define their individual challenge. Of course, bigger risks will yield greater rewards, like a higher legendary drop chance and better loot overall.

As a challenging endgame activity of a fast-paced space shooter, the team wants players to dive right into the battle with an optimized build and unleash mayhem on their enemies rather than camping behind an asteroid and picking one target after the other from a safe distance. So, in order not to be thrown out of the rift, pilots have to maintain their Resolve score in Ancient Rifts by defeating opponents rapidly and also keeping their hull integrity above zero.

While ROCKFISH Games is far from done with this first implementation, daring pilots can also engage with other exciting content in the Ancient Rifts update including overhauled racing events, new side missions in Union and Khaït Nebula, new jobs, new distress signals, new puzzles, and visual upgrades.

Ships are the key to the EVERSPACE 2 experience and the agency or expression of players so, of course, Rockfish also added some new features to play around with. The Bomber can now become the Titan and the Gunship the Dominator with a new wing set, and there are two new Outlaw units: the Raider and the Tormentor. A new device called Front Shield Generator also adds to play-style variety, giving pilots three modes to work with. Avenger reflects shots back to attackers, All Day converts blocked damage into weapon energy, and On Your Left provides a smaller shield that automatically turns toward the closest enemy facing the player.

The Rockfish team took note of pilots who weren’t happy with level scaling, especially at the beginning of the game. It was a challenge to find a balance for those who like a tough challenge and those who want to feel powerful throughout, but the new system does just that. There are multiple layers to how the new system works but, instead of enemies leveling with players constantly within a given level range per star system, their progress will be attached to world progression. Be it player level, major plot points, or entering a new system, players will be able to level beyond their enemies to a degree. If certain conditions are met, previous game areas will level up in a way that will be reflected in the game’s lore.

Read the Ancient Rifts Steam community post for a deeper dive into the update including a selection of legendary items to be found in the game as well as a full list of all added features, tweaks, and fixes.