StarKeeper Announced for PC and Consoles

Have you ever wanted to run the Star Wars cantina? Have you ever thought about who shot first, or rather, who served Han Solo shots the day before? Longterm Games’ new title allows you to experience the life of a tavern keeper, in space!

Longterm Games announced StarKeeper, a Space Tavern management simulator coming to PC and current-gen consoles. The dev team released an announcement trailer, though no word was given about the release date. Here is what the press release had to say about the upcoming management sim:

“StarKeeper will take players into uncharted corners of the galaxy, where they will manage their own tavern on an asteroid hurtling through space. [The] gameplay goes beyond just serving drinks and meals to clients from other planets, as players will face challenges based on four pillars: travel, trade, management[,] and relationships.

StarKeeper is an isometric 3D game where players will strive to satisfy the needs of diverse guests, aiming to make their tavern the talk of the entire galaxy. They will achieve this by serving the best food, offering clean and comfortable rooms, and providing affordable fuel.

Here’s what awaits hosts who aren’t afraid to embark on a galactic journey:

Travel – explore diverse star systems and meet their inhabitants. Visit planets with unique climates, from icy to tropical, each offering special goods for sale. Confront challenging travel hazards like meteor showers, mood-altering nebulae, or galactic conflicts. React to dynamically changing circumstances in procedurally generated regions of space. The places you visit will leave a mark on your asteroid in the form of new residents, cultural elements, or artifacts.

Trade – develop your own trading network to gain access to a rich variety of products. To achieve this, you’ll need trade and transport permits in various star systems. Sounds complicated? Smuggling is always an option!

Management – oversee buildings and workshops that provide food, drinks, oxygen, and fuel. Gather a team of robotic workers ready to assist in various tasks, while you enjoy decorating rooms in your tavern. Arrange tables, chairs, and specialized machines, including kitchen equipment that allows experimenting with dishes.

Relationships – forge connections by satisfying the needs of diverse guests, influenced by their race and faction allegiance. Meat-eaters, vegetarians, pacifists, and warriors – all are welcome within the walls of your tavern, but each group requires specific types of food, rooms, and decor. The most discerning customers may refuse to share space with others. Build friendships with factions or attempt to eliminate them in a political game. The fate of the cosmos will be shaped by your choices, and as the owner of a respected establishment, you can influence agreements and conflicts among cosmic nations.”

Alberto Rokicki, CEO of Longterm Games also commented on the announcement of Starkeeper, stating: “We don’t know what awaits us during the colonization of space, but one thing is sure – we wouldn’t want to run out of good drinks! With StarKeeper, we aim to set the standard in tavern management simulators, and setting the game on an asteroid that is speeding through the galaxy allows us to introduce many innovative ideas to this genre. Implementing new, often unconventional mechanics brings us immense joy, and we can’t wait to share them with players”

StarKeeper will be released on PC first, with console versions (Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S) to come after. I’m interested to see how StarKeeper turns out, since I love the concept and the announcement trailer looks interesting. We’ll have to wait a while to see how it turns out though, at least I suspect that to be the case.