Xenocider

Special interview with Retro Sumus, creators of Sovietborgs and Xenocider

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Some of you may remember Sovietborgs, the hot new Genesis/Mega-Drive top-down shooter being developed by Retro Sumus, previously known for their work on modern Dreamcast classic Xenocider. As of this writing, Sovietborgs’s Indiegogo campaign is still live and they are halfway toward their monetary goal to finish the game.

As their crowdfunding campaign soldiers on, we’ve had the lucky opportunity to speak to the people hard at work on Sovietborgs. This way, all of you, whether you’re excited for the game or still on the fence about supporting it, can get a look within the minds of this USSR themed 3D shooter and see what inspired them in their work.

Join us after the break as we learn about this history of Retro Sumus’s developers and what inspired them both technologically and creatively. As a special bonus, you can also see some photos of the game at this year’s Retrocon, which took place in São Paulo, Brazil from July 25-27th, 2025.

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New top-down Genesis/Mega-Drive shooter Sovietborgs now crowdfunding on Indiegogo

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Developer Retro Sumus are back with an all-new action shooter coming to Genesis/Mega-Drive called Sovietborgs. Spaniard developer Retro Sumus were previously known for their amazing 3D Dreamcast shooter Xenocider, released in 2021. That game, one of the first fully 3D indie games on Dreamcast, was a visual tour-de-force and a great tribute to Space Harrier and Sin & Punishment. With Sovietborgs, they’ve set their sights not just on Genesis, but aim to bring the game to Dreamcast and even MS-DOS and Neo-Geo. Quite the ambitious project indeed, and they’ve brought Sovietborgs to IndieGogo for the funding needed to make it happen.

Sovietborgs leverages pre-rendered 3D graphics, much like Vectorman or Sonic 3D Blast, to bring you into an alternate reality in which the Soviet Union became the dominant civilization following the Cold War. You’ll be controlling three mercenaries called “Sovietborgs” all at once to wipe out all the vicious mutants in every level. The game will play like a top-down shooter, but there are in-between levels more like a horizontal scrolling shmup as well. The music is inspired by the Strike trilogy and Command & Conquer: Red Alert and composed by the same Juanjo Martin who composed the music for Xenocider.

If you’re just itching to throw money at this game’s Indiegogo and get a copy of the game in the process following its completion, then journey on down past the break and find out what to expect from this campaign.

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Indie Dreamcast game Xenocider reveals ultra limited edition versions

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XenociderLimitedEditiongThe indie Dreamcast game Xenocider opened pre-orders awhile back but now, like most indie Dreamcast games, it will allow you to pre-order various versions including:

According to the developers blog, the limited edition of these games, the two big ones being the PAL edition and the Steelbook edition will be limited print run to only 50 copies. Only 100 copies if you combined them. That is almost nothing. So if you are interested in the indie Dreamcast game Xenocider and want a ultra rare limited edition, you might want to go for the PAL or Steelbook editions.

The indie Dreamcast game Xenocider is set to release during June 2017, no exact date has been given and considering how indie development scene goes, don’t be surprised if the game is delayed. This is notable for being one of the first indie Dreamcast games to use full 3D graphics and is heavily inspired by rail shooters such as Space Harrier. You can check out their new demo for the game, for free, right here. The team has also been rather open on receiving feedback during development, that is always a positive move.

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New Xenocider demo out, pre-order now available

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Developer Retro Sumus has dropped a nice surprised today in the form of a new Xenocider demo, a public declaration of their goals, and the ability to pre-order the Dreamcast game.

The developer discussed how conflicted they were in accepting money for the game before the work being finished. However, they decided to commit to the project and to exclusively develop it for the Dreamcast. They have set a tentative goal of finishing the game in less than a year.

The demo contains three stages that the team describes as “virtually finished.” The areas available are Fantasy Land, Planet Krok and Planet ORL. You can download the demo right here.

If you’re sold on Xenocider already, you can now pre-order a copy on Retro Sumus’ new shop. You’ll find all of the Kickstarter’s editions available, which is rather nice. You can also throw down some money on a Retro Sumus shirt featuring the team’s logo.

In addition to the Xenocider news, the team also teased an upcoming announcement concerning their other Dreamcast game, Ameba.

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Dreamcast indie devs show off new Xenocider swamp stage prototype

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The Xenocider Kickstarter campaign may have been cancelled after it they failed to raise the entire $92,000 goal, but developer Retro Sumus‘ soul still burns! They have been keeping true to their promise to continue working on the game and bringing their vision to fruition.

This week the team posted this short demo of the latest stage they are working on, Planet ORL. This new area has a swamp theme and features hostile plants and animals.

Sumus notes it is still a prototype of the intended final product.

As we reported on previously, Xenocider is a new original game for the Dreamcast heavily inspired by the Space Harrier and Sin & Punishment. The game was set to be one of the more ambitious independent posthumous Dreamcast releases, with loads of features.

What do you think of the Xenocider swamp stage? What sorts of objects and obstacles would you like to see the team add to the final version?

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Retro Sumus cancels Kickstarter campaign for indie Dreamcast game Xenocider

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As great as it is to see so many SEGA-related Kickstarter campaigns, inevitably some will not reach their goals. In the past we saw Mega-Bit figures and Night Trap Revamped fail to make their money, and today we are sad to report that Xenocider has thrown in the Kickstarter towel. Xenocider is a 3D shooter inspired by the SEGA classic Space Harrier, and was planned to be released to Dreamcast, PC, Mac, Linux and 3DS. At the time of cancelling the campaign, the game had 342 backers and raised $24,061 of the $92,000 goal with 6 days remaining.

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Kickstarter launches for Xenocider, a 3D shooter for Dreamcast, PC, Mac, Linux & 3DS

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The Kickstarter campaign for Xenocider, a new indie SEGA Dreamcast game, has launched. The game is unique as it is one of the first fully 3D indie Dreamcast games, and the gameplay itself takes inspiration from classic SEGA arcade games including Space Harrier and Nintendo’s Sin & Punishment. The game’s development team Retro Sumus describes themselves as “a small, independent game development team who got together to revisit genres and concepts we felt were underused, or not explored in depth back in their time.”

The small team is a mix of individuals who are both new and old to the indie Dreamcast development scene, including Lead Programmer Daniel Lancha who reprogrammed Pier Solar for modern platforms and developed Hucast’s Ghost Blade. Also involved is Carlos Oliveros who heads up the team’s Communications and who in the past handled Pier Solar‘s Spanish translation. So it should be no surprise that Tulio Goncalves, former president and founder of Watermelon games and creator of Pier Solar, is on the team serving as the Producer. All-in-all, it looks like Xenocider has a solid team with Dreamcast development experience, but if that still doesn’t sway you they have put together a real working demo of the game for the Dreamcast that you can play right now! Just click on over to their campaign page for Windows, Mac, Linux and Dreamcast download links.

Dreamcast isn’t the only planned platform, as the game will also be playable on PC, Mac, Linux and Nintendo 3DS. The team hopes to raise $92,000 to realize their vision. After the break, a full list of what the team plans for the game to make it extra special. Check out the campaign today, and if you like what you see give them your support!

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