Remaster of sci-fi city builder Surviving Mars locks in date for lift off and promises all-new expansions

Would you go and live on Mars, if given the opportunity? I couldn't leave my family behind, but if they were invited too, I think it'd be a fun adventure. I'm not keen on the idea of an eight-month long journey with a six-month old baby, though. Thankfully, that's why we play videogames. We can skip all the travel and the dangers of space travel and simulate the life on Mars thing on our computer screen. It's not exactly stress-free, but Surviving Mars significantly reduces the danger. As one of the best city building games and colony sims out there, I can't wait to head back to the red planet in Surviving Mars Relaunched, which has just announced a release date and all-new expansions.

If, like me, you're a sucker for sorting systems and predicting productivity, Surviving Mars is a game that will tick all your brain boxes in just the right way. As a sci-fi nut, this space skin on a fairly standard sim does everything right for me, and I can spend hours building the right biomes and ensuring my citizens don't get Earthsick.

However, Surviving Mars Relaunched is more than just a visual upgrade. Sure, the game should look better with its remastered artwork, but it also builds on what the original game did in new ways. Not only are all the expansions of Surviving Mars rolled into one package, there's a new Martian Assembly political system to decipher. All-new expansions are also set to arrive next year.

The first expansion, which launches alongside the game if you buy the Ultimate Edition, adds a new building, the Law Office. This will probably interact with that new Martian Assembly system so you can channel your inner Chrisjen Avasarala and quell any political upheaval before it happens. Because that worked out so well for her…

The Ultimate Edition also grants you access to the first two pieces of post-launch DLC, Feeding the Future and Machine Utopia. The former focuses on food production, adding new ingredients and meals, and should arrive in Q2 2026. The latter allows you to replace your human workers with machines in an intergalactic industrial revolution and is planned to release in Q4 2026.

It's currently not clear whether these will be available separately, or what Surviving Mars Relaunched and its Ultimate Edition will cost. Check back to the site for more information as soon as we get it.

Surviving Mars Relaunched releases on Monday, November 10. You can wishlist it here.

If this has got you in the mood for an interplanetary adventure, check out the best space games for some inspiration. Alternatively, the best simulation games have a similar feel to Surviving Mars.

Will you be playing the remaster? Honestly, as soon as that music hit, I was transported back in time, so I'll be hopping in for that alone. Let us know what you'd like to see in future updates in our community Discord server, where staff and readers consider the intricacies of real-life planet colonization.