Survive and fight in first person, gather resources and haul them home, then step back and command your squad like an RTS. It all happens in one persistent world, and your soldiers die for good.
You lead a small squad into dangerous, procedurally generated regions to grab what you can and get out alive.
Minute to minute, you're on the ground in first person: clearing towns, fighting rival factions and the infected, cracking crates and salvaging anything useful. At any moment you can pull back to a command view and give your squad orders like an RTS. Same world, same moment, no separate mode.
Whatever you extract comes home to a private base you build up between runs. Craft ammo, mod guns, cook rations, recruit people, then deploy again stronger. Bring back the loot and you get stronger. Lose a soldier and they're gone for good.
A
FPS + RTS in one world
Fight it yourself, or step back and command it. Both run in the same live simulation.
B
A squad that remembers
Your people level up by doing the work. Whoever you play is in command, and when someone dies, they stay dead.
C
Extraction with stakes
Every run comes down to one question: keep looting or get out with what you have?
D
A base that grows
Loot becomes buildings, ammo, gear and soldiers, and eventually an army that changes the map.
02
How a Run Works
Seven steps, repeated at a bigger scale every time.
01
Deploy
Pick a region and its settings on the deploy screen, gear up, and drop in.
02
Explore
Push through procedural towns and wilds. Every map is generated from a seed.
03
Fight
First-person firefights against AI factions and the infected, with your squad beside you.
04
Loot
Crack crates, search bodies, salvage clutter. Everything you carry is at risk.
05
Extract
Keep pushing or get out? Make it to extraction and the loot is yours to keep.
06
Bank it
Back at your HQ, everything you extracted goes into your stash and stays there.
07
Build
Build, craft and recruit, then deploy again stronger.
All images are real, unedited greybox captures. Final art is in progress.
IN THE BUILD: playable in the current greybox IN DEVELOPMENT: designed, being built ROADMAP: later phases
03
Two Layers, One War
RTS command and first-person combat aren't separate modes. They're two ways of controlling the same running simulation.
> FIELDFirst-person combat and aiming, with optional third-person for driving and walking around.
> COMMANDStep back into the HQ command view. Select units, give orders, manage production and logistics, then drop back into a body.
> MOBILE COMMAND ARRAYA crafted, carried item that opens RTS mode in the field. Better antenna materials extend your command range. in development
> LIVING WORLDAI factions recruit, build, move armies and take territory while you're away.
GREYBOX · ENTERING THE RTS HQ COMMAND VIEW
GREYBOX · A SQUADMATE GOES DOWN
04
Whoever You Play Is in Command
There's no fixed hero. The squad member you're controlling is the acting commander, so switching bodies is a core tactic: play your specialist when you need one.
> CHAIN OF COMMANDYou set the succession. If the leader falls, the next in line takes over, and the highest-level survivor steps up if the chain is empty.
> MORALESquads perform better under higher-level leaders. Lose the acting commander and morale drops, harder the higher their level.
> DEATH IS FINALA dead soldier takes their skills with them. The run ends only when everyone is gone.
in development Designed and approved; being built now.
05
Skills Grow From Use
No perk points. People improve by doing the work and through training facilities at your base. Nobody is ever locked out of a skill line, and mixing skills unlocks hybrid twists on top of the base abilities.
Hacking+Demolitions=Bomb Dronein development
Hacking+Firearms=Combat Hacker: Gun Dronein development
Hacking+Medicine=Med Dronein development
> HACKING SKILL TREE in development
Today, Hacking grows by claiming and powering facilities. Higher levels are planned to unlock: hacking AI buildings · unlocking doors without a charge · taking down drones · hijacking and redirecting enemy airstrikes · cutting a site's power · stealing money from terminals and trader safes.
06
More Gun Combinations Than Stars in the Milky Way
3.17QUINTILLION≈ 3.17 × 1018 possible guns
vs
100–400BILLIONstars in the Milky Way
13 platforms × a part in every slot × a material for every part × rarity · quality · condition = millions of guns for every star. Mod sockets multiply it again.
That's why no gun in Black Swan is pre-listed. Each one is saved as a recipe and built the moment you craft it or find it.
IN THE BUILD · AMMO PRESS: FMJ AND AP ROUNDSIN THE BUILD · MODIFYING A COMBAT BLADE
In the build
Parts & materials
Choose the material for each part. Materials are designed as trade-offs, not straight upgrades. Condition runs Rusty → Worn → Fair → Good → Perfect → Pristine.
In the build
Real crafting stations
Ammo presses, field kitchens and workbenches, each with real recipes, real materials and real crafting times.
In development
Chips, gems & runes
A gun gets one socket; melee weapons and tools can get up to three, depending on the crafter's skill. Chips, gems graded by carat, and real Norse and Celtic runes that wear out with use.
In the build
One fuse system
Nine fuse kinds: timed, impact, proximity, remote, tripwire, pressure, airburst, delayed impact, anti-tamper. Each explosive family gets its own set.
07
Build Your HQ
Your private HQ is where loot becomes power, and it stays between runs. It's invite-only: nobody gets in or loots it unless you invite them.
> BUILDPlace workshops, depots, radio masts, troop centers and production buildings.
> TRADEA base marketplace to buy and sell, plus regional markets and traders out in the world.
> ATTENTIONHigh-tier factories put out smoke and draw attention. When the activity meter fills, raids come. in development
IN THE BUILD · PLACING BASE STRUCTURESIN THE BUILD · WORKSHOP AT THE HQ
08
A World That Fights Back
IN THE BUILD · PROCEDURAL WILDS
In the build
Procedural regions
Seeded worlds with towns, industrial sites, military positions, deposits and extraction points. Bigger multi-story buildings and megastructures are on the way.
In the build
Fog of war
Unexplored areas are black, explored ones go dark gray, and only what's visible right now is live. Radio towers push the fog back.
In the build
AI factions
Factions that move, fight, defend valuable sites and respond to you. No armies out of thin air: they're built from resources and production.
In development
The infected
Hordes are already in the field. Next up: distinct shamblers and sprinters, claw and bite attacks, and a horde mode.
An optional language model running on your own PC for squad radio and after-run debriefs. The game runs normally without it.
09
The Swans
Rare artifacts, nothing like ordinary loot. Tied to major progression, base unlocks and rare discoveries.
Swan
Gold Swan
Diamond Swan
Black Swan
What they do: [classified, devlog reveal]
10
Solo → Co-op → War
Built solo-first, scaling up in stages. No dates promised, just direction.
PHASE 1 · NOW
Solo
The full loop: deploy, extract, build and command, from your own private HQ.
PHASE 2
Small Co-op, PvP Always On
Each player brings their own squad and extracts to their own base. Shoot a player and you're marked yellow on the map; kill their troops and you're red.
PHASE 3
Bigger Battles
16–32 players, each commanding 10–20 troops. Themed server maps, plus a horde mode where a shambler wave shrinks the map.
PHASE 4 · LATER
Persistent Servers
Raidable FOBs and player-run trade offices. Your private HQ is never raidable by other players.
Roadmap is subject to change. Target dates: [TBA]. Design stance: no pay-to-win.
11
From the Field
Work-in-progress greybox captures. Click any image to enlarge.
12
Devlog
[DATE] · DEVLOG #001
One game, two layers: FPS meets RTS
[PLACEHOLDER: why command and combat share one simulation.]
Black Swan is in active development. What you see here is a work-in-progress greybox, and systems change every week. Early access builds are rough, and space is limited.
Already playing a build? Report bugs to [PLACEHOLDER: bug-report email or form].
