From a co-op FPS to an intense bullet heaven, and now the “greatest esports event in the world,” the Deep Rock Galactic franchise has been on one hell of a ride over the last six years.
The series’ latest release, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, is set to take centre stage at Copenhagen Gaming Week later this month, with Ghost Ship Games fully leaning into the spectacle through the return of the Ultimate Challenge Invitationals — a tongue-in-cheek but fiercely competitive esports-style event designed to push the game, and its most skilled players, to their limits.
Ahead of the tournament finals on February 12, we caught up with Aaron (Content Writer) and Alex (Head of Publishing and Marketing) at Ghost Ship Games to talk about turning Survivor into a competitive showcase, the growing Danish games scene, and why they firmly believe you can make an esport out of anything — if you believe hard enough.
Read on for our full interview…
RL: Hi Aaron and Alex! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. First, please tell us a bit about what you do and what you’re currently working on!
Aaron: I’m the Content Writer at GSG, which means I spend my time writing and editing stuff for external communications (Steam blogs mostly) as well as in-game content like voicelines, reference/tutorial texts and item names. On top of that I’m part of our weekly dev stream team, and I do some voice acting when the opportunity arises.
Alex: I’m Head of Publishing and Marketing for Ghost Ship, which means I am responsible for making sure our games are set up for success. I lead the marketing team for GSG, and make sure our games (DRG, Rogue Core) and those from our external devs (Ghost Ship Publishing games) get all the publishing support they need.
RL: If there is someone in the Rogueliker audience who isn’t already in the loop on what DRG: Survivor is, can you sum it up in your words?
It’s a single-player spinoff of Deep Rock Galactic, inspired by bullet heaven roguelikes like Vampire Survivors. You play as the usual DRG dwarves, but this time you’re dropping in solo. You run around and kite swarms of bugs, harvest minerals and XP, level up into a hellacious synergized flame-and-bullet-spewing menace, and hopefully complete the mission. Rinse and repeat.
RL: Both Mike and I used to work for Gamereactor (for our sins), so we’re more aware of the Nordic gaming scene than most. What can you tell us about Copenhagen Gaming Week?
It’s a newer convention, started up in the last couple years as part of a wider effort to bring some focus and momentum to all the cool stuff going on in the Danish gaming community. It’s partly for the video games industry, showcasing bigger Danish developers (like Ghost Ship and IO Interactive) and indie developers. But there’s also a big esports element, IRL tabletop and card games, cosplay, and gaming-focused streamers and content creators.
But the biggest draw, of course, is the generation-defining sporting spectacle of the Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor – Ultimate Challenge Invitationals.
RL: What more can you tell us about the Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor – Ultimate Challenge Invitationals 2026?
We’re going to have four of the most powerful gamers going head-to-head to play the spiciest version of this game that’s ever been cooked up. We worked with Funday, the developers, to create a tailor-made tournament build that introduces difficulty modifiers you can’t get anywhere else. It’s going to be a brutal experience for even these esports thoroughbreds — slipping up for a quarter second could cost you the title.
But diamonds are created under pressure. That’s why we’re doing this. Not only to show the world the true skill and prowess of the DRG: Survivor community, but also to prove that you can make an esport out of anything if you believe hard enough.
It’s the second year we’ve done it, and already we’re getting loads of positive feedback. Many of our fans are asking “Why are you spending your time on this instead of making DRG?,” which we think means they don’t understand why we would dare do something so brave. Our quarterfinals broadcast got 500 live viewers, which is the size of a modest grain elevator town in the Midwest, so that’s pretty significant when you frame it like that. We’ve also received a letter from Jason Football, inventor of football, who says we’re doing amazing.
Most importantly, however, we’re having fun. And that’s what games and sports are all about.
RL: You must have some seriously ripped esports athletes involved? Tell us more about who is involved.
The cream of the crop, that’s who. Competing in this Thursday’s finals are some of the most tenacious DRG: Survivor streamers and content creators: We’ve got OHRye, who’s made 369 DRG: Survivor-focused YouTube videos by the time of the Invitationals. Then there’s Merkaba18, who was formerly a Doctor of Psychology in real life before he became a full-time gamer, so you have to consider the mental fortitude that comes with that. We’ve also got Siirvend, a seasoned veteran of the OG Deep Rock Galactic, bringing all that knowledge of build synergies to the field here. Finally, there’s Farham, who returns as the reigning Ultimate Heavyweight Champion after his big win in the previous Invitationals.
It’s set to be an absolute barn burner this Thursday — think Pacquiao vs. Mayweather meets the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
RL: The pitch we were sent for this described it as “The Greatest Esports Event in the World”. Having played the game extensively, I would never doubt such a claim, however, we’re interested in hearing how you plan to scale the Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor – Ultimate Challenge Invitationals to match the Super Bowl?
We might consider how we can apply the Invitationals concept to other games in the future — competitive Deep Dive speedruns in the OG Deep Rock Galactic, for example? Could we whip up the same legendary sporting spirit with Rogue Core? Trick question, of course we could. But that’s certainly something we’ve considered, along with the possibility of flying contestants in to have everyone gathered in one room. That would of course require renting a whole venue, and suddenly this is becoming a big production. But for the Invitationals, it’s always worth it.
RL: And finally, with the event due to take place during Copenhagen Games Week, on 12 February, at 15:45 CET, is there anything else we need to know?
First and foremost, you need to know that it’ll be live on Twitch and Youtube for an expected audience of 98 trillion viewers. A recording will be available after, of course. But did anyone ever brag to their grandkids that they saw a recording of the moon landing?
Now to save you scrolling back up for that link, head this way for the Steam page for Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.
