Before tunnelling its way into the roguelike genre, Deep Rock Galactic already held a special place for me and my fellow rogueliker, Mike.
Alongside Sea of Thieves, its co-op focus and easy pick-up-and-play design made it the perfect way for two slightly burnt-out games journalists to unwind, despite being hundreds of miles apart.
Admittedly, that was quite some time ago, but much like our friendship, the Deep Rock franchise has endured, and this week, in particular, has been a big one for news surrounding its various offshoots.
Here is everything you need to know about each game in the Deep Rock spin-offs, starting with the very latest updates…
Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core enters Early Access on May 20th
We’re kicking things off with the big news: Rogue Core will finally be in our hands on May 20th.
While Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor tackled the survivors-like genre (more on that later), Rogue Core puts our favourite spelunking dwarves into co-op roguelike action, fighting through perilous mining facilities.
According to the game’s Steam page, players begin each run with only the most basic equipment, gradually collecting random upgrades, gear, and abilities along the way, leading to a variety of builds and powerful synergies.
Whilst the gameplay has shifted to a roguelite, the spin-off maintains the spirit of the original with groups exploring mines using the same traversal tools, weapon synergies, and laser pointer shouts.
You can check out the new release date trailer for Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core below:
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor’s first expansion introduces the Demolisher class
The second big DRG announcement of last week was that Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor would be receiving its first expansion on April 30th, on both PC and Xbox.
The Heavy Duty expansion introduces a new Demolisher class. This new powerhouse can mow down enemies and create a trail of destruction by operating a powerful bulldozer known as the Rock Dozer.
Additionally, three different class mods – Contractor, Gridrunner, and Operator – give players different ways to boost their mining output.
Alongside the new class, the update also adds 10 (!) new weapons, upping the total firepower by almost a fifth. These new guns aren’t just limited to the Demolisher and can be used by all classes once they are unlocked.
You can check out the trailer for the Demolisher class below, if you want to see it in action:
Deep Rock Galactic gets ready to invade Kickstarter
Finally, the game that started it all celebrated its eighth anniversary earlier this month with a special in-game event.
Ghost Ship Games gave players an exclusive party hat for completing a special assignment, and the Spice Rig was decorated to mark the occasion.
Much more exciting, however, is the upcoming Kickstarter campaign for DRG collectable figures. These new Deep Rock Galactic figurines will be ready for backing as of March 26th, 2026.
So far, they’ve given us a closer look at the Scout and the Driller, with more details to come in due course!
