HomeMain MenuPress Releases12 Years in the Making: Huge Sword-Punk Sandbox RPG ‘Kenshi’ Launches Today

12 Years in the Making: Huge Sword-Punk Sandbox RPG ‘Kenshi’ Launches Today

12 Years in the Making: Huge Sword-Punk Sandbox RPG ‘Kenshi’ Launches Today

‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ Steam Rating – Thousands of Reviews

Bristol, UK – December 6, 2018: After 12 years of development (including 4 in Early Access) Kenshi, the single player RPG set in a vast and atmospheric ‘Sword-Punk’ style open world, launches for PC today.

Kenshi’s expansive mix of RPG elements, squad-based control and city-building features have earned it a legion of fans. Thousands of Early Access reviews have resulted in an Very Positive ranking (with Overwhelmingly Positive recent reviews).

Kenshi’s gameplay is completely free-roaming: players enjoy the freedom and potential to do whatever they want. Set in an unrelenting world of bloodthirsty cannibals, starving bandits, brutal slavers and wild beasts, Kenshi is an unashamedly hardcore RPG.

“We’ve had our struggles with delays, budget, engine upgrades, and of course mountains of bugs to squash”, says Lo-Fi Games’ CEO and head developer Chris Hunt. “But it’s exciting to reach the finishing line and to see so much enthusiasm amongst the community that supported us for so many years.”

“I hope that Kenshi meets a need in players that wasn’t being met by bigger games in the industry – a need for freedom and depth. Kenshi’s great for making your own stories and we think it also offers a really unique experience, different for each individual player where free roaming AIs can collide outside of a linear script – see our top favourite stories here: lofigames.com/player-stories.”

“We want to thank all our fans, supporters and volunteers who never gave up on us during this lengthy development. We simply couldn’t have done it without them. Even though we can’t respond to every heartfelt message we receive from our supporters, they really have touched us and motivated us to make something great.”

What is Kenshi?

  • Open-ended sandbox RPG – Totally freeform gameplay with no linear story and no level requirements to unlock new items and features. Be good, be evil, be a businessman, be a thief, live in a town, live in the desert, travel alone, travel in hordes, build a fortress, raze a city – Kenshi will never seek to limit you or restrict your personal play style.
  • The largest RPG world since Daggerfall – With no gated zones and a seamless map stretching over 870 square kilometres.
  • Mods to customise your characters and surroundings – A highly active player community already with over 1,500 fan-made mods to personalise your playthrough.
  • Detailed squad-based gameplay – Create, recruit and develop multi-character squads and factions from scratch.
  • Build a base to house your squad – Research new technologies, upgrade your defences and craft new gear.
  • Unashamedly hardcore – Harsh and unforgiving game world of constant challenge and reward. There are no ‘hero’ characters with artificially stronger stats.
  • Absolutely no level-scaling – The world does not level up with you and shops don’t change their items depending on your level.
  • Realistic medical system brings surprising survival gameplay – Damage location matters (leg injuries slow you down, arm injuries limit ability to fight), injuries take time to heal, no magical health potions exist and severed limbs need prosthetic replacements.
  • Aid or oppose the various factions in the world – Form alliances or start wars. Strive for the strength and wealth necessary to survive in the harsh desert.

 Kenshi is available to purchase globally on Steam today ($29.99 / £22.99 / €26.99 / ¥3500). Users who supported the game in Early Access will be upgraded to the full retail version for no extra charge.

About Lo-Fi Games – Kenshi’s Development Story
Chris Hunt, founder of Lo-Fi Games, spent his early 20s working as a game programmer but hated working on small cash-cow projects which felt like a waste of time. So he left, and spent the next 12 years working on Kenshi. During daylight hours Chris worked on the game full-time, then as the sun went down drove a windowless car to start his night shift as a security guard.

After being Greenlit on Steam’s Early Access in 2013, Kenshi raised enough money to fund a small team. Hiring an unlikely ensemble including a Bollywood TV extra, a unicycling hockey player and an ex-circus performer who refuses to wear shoes, development of Kenshi ramped up considerably.