GTFO, the co-op horror survival shooter with the silly name, hits Early Access next week

I strongly suspect that GTFO is going to be one of those game titles that seemed very clever in the pre-production phase, but becomes increasingly less so as the actual release gets closer. Remember when Van Halen released "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge," and everyone just rolled their eyes? Like that.

Regardless of what you think of the title, the game itself looks quite promising. Developer 10 Chambers Collective released an eight-minute gameplay trailer in October showcasing a shadowy blend of stealth, tactics, and occasional bouts of balls-out violence, and while these videos are usually put together for maximum impact, it looks genuinely tense: As Fraser put it at the time, "It's all very methodical and tactical, until it isn't."

Access to the game has thus far been restricted to a closed alpha test, but that will change on December 9 when GTFO goes into Early Access on Steam. One of the new features coming in the Early Access release is "The Rundown," which is essentially a system of rotating maps, with the catch that the rotation is permanent: Players will be given "work orders" consisting of different maps spread throughout a vast, multi-tiered underground complex, with limited amounts of time to get the job done. When the time limit is up, a new work order is issued and the previous one goes away for good. Different work orders will have different numbers of expeditions, and shorter or longer time limits to match, ranging from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.

10 Chambers said that it doesn't want to put out a full release date "that we'll likely overshoot anyway," so there's no indication about how long GTFO is expected to stay in Early Access; instead, the developers will maintain a public development roadmap leading up launch, so followers will be able to stay on top of how it's coming along. 

GTFO isn't currently available for pre-purchase, but 10 Chambers said on Twitter that the Early Access release will sell for $35. For now, you can find out more and wishlist it if you're suitably impressed on Steam.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.