Manage A Space Agency In Mars Horizon, Coming To Multiple Platforms

UK-based developer Auroch Digital has announced Mars Horizon, a "space agency management game" for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Mars Horizon promises to "combine rocket building, mission control, and space agency management". The game will allow players to choose the space agencies of either Europe, Russia or the United States. Players will then guide their chosen agency through a "decades-spanning campaign to expand humanity's reach further into space", with an end goal of becoming the first nation to send a crewed mission to Mars.

News of Mars Horizon's release was accompanied by a reveal trailer, which was posted to Auroch Digital's official YouTube account. You can check out the trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gqbz8C8bX0

The trailer demonstrates the game's aesthetic, as well as some of its gameplay mechanics. UK-based developers Auroch Digital describe themselves as "advocates for video games both as entertainment but also as a medium with the power to explore real-world issues and ideas", so it seems like authenticity is important for them. To back this up, Auroch Digital received backing from the UK Space Agency during the development of Mars Horizon. The UK Space Agency provided "a grant plus advice and information on space exploration and the running of an actual space agency for Mars Horizon".

Here's a quick rundown of some of the features you can expect from Mars Horizon when it launches:

• Authentic space management gameplay: Auroch Digital worked extensively with the UK Space Agency to ensure Mars Horizon is accurate as well as enjoyable
• Custom rocket building: players will be able to design and build their dream rocket, as well as upgrading vehicle components through repeated usage
• Diplomatic relations with other nations: other nations will have their own agendas in the space race, and players can choose how to react to this

Auroch Digital is a "veteran strategy game developer stationed at mission control in the Bristol Games Hub, Bristol, UK". The company has a history of socially conscious video games; as part of their GameTheNews initiative, they've worked with the BBC on political puzzler Ballot Bots, as well as creating NarcoGuerra, an examination of the Mexican drug cartel wars.

Mars Horizon is expected to launch Q4 for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. No word yet on pricing, but it's early days, so watch this space.

Are you excited to start up your own space agency? Do you think scientific accuracy is important in this sort of game? Let us know in the comments below!