Galak-Z's free DLC enters beta after months of setbacks

A beta for Galak-Z: The Dimensional's free downloadable expansion, The Void, will be available on Steam starting tonight. From 11 p.m. ET until 8 a.m. ET on April 18, fans of the sci-fi shooter can test out the new content before its official release.

Serving as a fifth season to Galak-Z's story, the DLC will include an "endless mode," one that only ends when the player dies. A score is posted to online leaderboards postmortem; both this and how The Void works are detailed when a beta tester launches the download for the first time. The beta doesn't allow for saves, and any progress made in other modes during the period will be lost.

Fans of the anime-influenced Galak-Z have been clamoring for the content update since the game's summer 2015 release on PlayStation 4. First announced for the end of 2015, the developer was honest on Galak-Z's Steam forum about problems that befell the expansion's production.

In November, a staff member posted an update to the game's community board. "I wanted to apologize for the lack of updates and interactions in the discussion forums recently," lead engineer Zach Aikman wrote. "Our studio director and lead engineer (myself) are in the process of relocating from Seattle to Kyoto to join the rest of the 17-BIT team that's already over there."

After the move to Japan, however, the developer found itself both distracted and forced to shift its focus, according to CEO Jake Kazdal. "These are tough times for most indie developers, the ones that don't win the sales lottery have to scramble to stay alive, something we've gotten used to," he wrote in an update dated March 1. Kazdal continued that the free DLC was still in the works and, despite its delayed release from 2015's end, the studio planned to reveal more details "soon."

The Void's beta appears to be Windows PC-only for now. 17-Bit is sponsoring a night of Twitch livestreams in celebration of its launch, but the mode's full release on PS4 and PC remains unscheduled.

Read our review of Galak-Z for more on the game, then check out our gameplay overview below.