Deep Rock Galactic
Officially Deep Rock Galactic (Ghost Ship Games)
COOPERATIVE FIRST-PERSON MINING SHOOTER by GHOST SHIP GAMES (Copenhagen, 2020) — 1-4 players are SPACE DWARVES employed by DEEP ROCK GALACTIC corporation to MINE PROCEDURALLY-GENERATED CAVES on the hostile planet HOXXES IV, while battling swarms of insect-like ALIENS. 4 CLASSES: SCOUT (grappling hook + flare gun), ENGINEER (turrets + platform gun), GUNNER (Gatling + shield), DRILLER (drills + explosives). Cult favorite among co-op fans — 10M+ sold across PC/Xbox/PlayStation.
Quick facts
Category
Video Games
Type
Team sport
Players
1–4
Duration
~30 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇩🇰 Denmark
Estimated origin
Released Early Access 2018; version 1.0 launch May 2020 by Ghost Ship Games (Denmark); Coffee Stain Publishing; ongoing seasonal content; 10M+ sold; DRG: Survivor spin-off 2024.
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Cooperatively COMPLETE mining objectives in procedurally-generated caves + SURVIVE alien swarms + ESCAPE to drop-pod extraction.
Rules
Basic rules
4 CLASSES: SCOUT (grappling hook, flare gun, lightweight); ENGINEER (turrets, platform gun for cave traversal); GUNNER (Gatling gun, zipline gun, shield generator); DRILLER (twin power drills, explosives)
Signature 4-class system.
MISSION TYPES: MINING (extract Morkite mineral), EGG HUNT (grab alien eggs), SALVAGE (rescue drop-pod parts), REFINERY (link pipelines), POINT EXTRACTION (defend nozzle while collecting), ESCORT (guide drilling machine)
Signature 6+ mission types.
PROCEDURAL CAVES: every mission's caves generated fresh — no two missions identical; various BIOMES (magma, crystalline caves, dense biozones, fungus bogs, salt pits)
Signature procedural cave generation.
ALIEN SWARMS: 'GLYPHIDS' (bug-like) + specialists (Praetorians armored, Mactera flying); BIG BOSS: DREADNOUGHTS (multi-form armored bosses)
Signature alien opposition.
MISSION HAZARDS: RADIATION, DENSE FOG, ICE STORMS, LOW GRAVITY, EXPLODING PLANTS — random per mission modifiers
Signature mission-modifier hazards.
FRIENDSHIP + CULTURAL: TAVERN 'SPACE RIG' hub — dwarves DANCE, DRINK BEER, THROW BARRELS at each other, SALUTE with 'ROCK AND STONE!'
Signature 'Rock and Stone!' community catchphrase.
SEASONS + FREE CONTENT: quarterly seasonal updates ADD new missions, cosmetics, warnings — all FREE (no season-pass paywall)
Signature free-content-forever policy.
HAZARD LEVELS: 1-5 (easy → very hard) + HAZARD 5+ modifiers (extra spawn, extra damage) — deep-dive endgame content
Signature Hazard 1-5+ difficulty scaling.
Scoring
Personal progression: XP + credits + resources per completed mission; class-specific perks + weapon upgrades; season-cosmetic unlocks.
Win condition · Complete assignments + reach class + player levels; 'Legendary' perk medal for max class prestige.
Equipment
GAMING PC (Steam) or PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series
Standard PC + console.
STANDARD CONTROLLER or KEYBOARD + MOUSE
Standard inputs.
OPTIONAL: DISCORD/PARTY-CHAT for coordination
Standard co-op voice chat.
Terminology
- Rock and Stone!
- Signature dwarven greeting/salute — say it to gain buff.
- Space Rig
- Central tavern hub where dwarves socialize between missions.
- Morkite
- Primary mineable resource — extraction target of Mining missions.
- Glyphid
- Common bug-like alien enemy.
- Dreadnought
- Boss-level alien encountered on some missions.
- Deep Dive
- 3-mission challenge with linked storyline, hardest content.
- Bosco
- Solo-player's drone companion; can mine + shoot enemies + revive.
- Karl
- Legendary lost dwarf — 'For Karl!' is a battle-cry.
Major competitions
No formal esport — cooperative PvE game
n/a · Global gaming market · since 2020
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Ghost Ship Games (developer)
Founded 2016 · Copenhagen, Denmark
Coffee Stain Publishing (publisher)
Founded 2010 · Skövde, Sweden
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Ghost Ship Games team (Denmark)
- Coffee Stain Publishing (Sweden)
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Deep Rock Galactic— Wikipedia
- Ghost Ship Games official— Ghost Ship Games