Serious Sam is turning 25 this year, and the franchise is celebrating with something completely different. Revealed during today’s Xbox Partner Preview, Serious Sam: Shatterverse is a five-player co-op FPS with a roguelite twist, developed by Behaviour Interactive, the studio behind Dead by Daylight, and published by Devolver Digital. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC later this year.
The premise is appropriately ridiculous for a Serious Sam game. Mental, Sam’s arch-nemesis, has fractured the walls between universes, and now Sams from multiple dimensions have to team up to repair the Shatterverse. Players will travel across shifting universes to finish battles that other Sams couldn’t, fighting alongside alternate versions of themselves to take down Mental’s five lieutenants. It’s the kind of over-the-top setup that fits the franchise perfectly, and the roguelite layer means every run should feel different with procedurally shifted arenas, run modifiers, and stackable boons.
What’s notable here is that this isn’t coming from Croteam, the original creators of Serious Sam. Instead, Behaviour Interactive is stepping in, which is a pretty bold move for a franchise with such a dedicated fan base. The studio has been expanding aggressively, having recently acquired The Fun Pimps, the developers behind 7 Days to Die. Croteam co-creator Davor Hunski seems genuinely supportive of the new direction though, saying it’s “very exciting to see another talented team step in and create something bold, fresh and different” within the universe. Behaviour Interactive’s Nic Duchesne says the main goal was to “respect Serious Sam’s rich legacy while presenting it in a fresh, contemporary way.”
The feature list leans hard into what makes Serious Sam fun: a loud, irresponsible arsenal mixing classic weapons with new toys, non-stop run-and-gun combat, massive hordes of enemies begging to be gibbed, and perfectly timed one-liners when everything’s on fire. There are also unstable anomalies, hidden portals, and high-risk opportunities that can supercharge a run or end it instantly, along with permanent upgrades to expand your options over time.
Devolver Digital has been on a great streak lately. Ball x Pit was one of our favorite games of 2025, so we trust the publisher’s eye for quality. Whether Behaviour Interactive can capture the spirit of Serious Sam while making the roguelite structure feel rewarding run after run remains to be seen, but the foundation sounds promising.
