The Cube, Save Us enters free-to-play early access on Steam

XLGAMES and Studio Cube have launched The Cube, Save Us in free-to-play early access on Steam. The multiplayer extraction game was originally planned for late 2025, but slipped into 2026 after player feedback during testing, with performance issues called out as a major concern. XLGames is best known for ArcheAge.

According to the Steam page, it’s a PvPvE extraction action game set on a post-nuclear Earth, with players heading inside a giant alien structure called the Cube to gather resources and make it back out alive. The setup leans more toward melee combat than the usual gun-heavy extraction shooter formula. The game currently has “mostly negative” reviews, but is maintaining a playerbase of over 2,000 concurrent players, which isn’t bad, but the game just launched so that could decline quickly.

The early access version includes 27 “fragments” inside the Cube, and the developers say map layouts are assembled dynamically each session. That should make runs less predictable, though how much variety that actually adds will be something players can judge now that the game is live.

XLGAMES also says the business model won’t include pay-to-win items. For now, the plan is to sell cosmetics only, with no paid gear or boosts that affect combat power or survival chances.

The studio hasn’t shared a firm end date for early access in the source material, but says it will keep updating and improving the game during the period. For players who were waiting on the delayed launch, it’s available now.