Natural Selection 2 studio reveals Future Perfect, a game about mods

The makers of Natural Selection 2 have revealed their next project, Future Perfect, a game about making games—specifically, about "discovering, creating and playing games online with your friends." It's not ready for a full release yet, but gamers willing to deal with the foibles of "earliest access" can pick it up now and take part in the development process by viewing and voting on the studio's internal task tracking system, and playing through daily builds released on Steam.

Future Perfect features a built-in editor that lets players create their own games and share them on the fly, as part of the game itself. "The interface is easy enough for complete beginners to use, but also supports advanced capabilities," the website explains. "It is possible to import art and create gameplay scripts. In Future Perfect, editing isn’t a single player affair. Live editing during play is not only possible, it is encouraged!"

The studio says in the Future Perfect development blog that the game was inspired largely by playing mods at LAN parties. It will be made up of two separate parts: various first-person co-op and competitive gameplay modes, and the editor, which will enable the creation of new modes of play. The "Earliest Access" release can only be purchased through the official website—it's "rough" and not yet ready for a proper Early Access launch—but the daily builds will be downloadable through Steam.

"You should only buy Future Perfect right now if you like playing in, breaking, and messing about with unfinished games," the studio warned. "Future Perfect is not a finished game." If a finished game is what you're after, it recommends you sign up for the mailing list instead, or add it to your Steam wishlist. There's currently no word on the expected full launch date.

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.