Top-down roguelike shooter Section 13 is a pulse-pounding dive into a harrowing research facility and its murderous, mutated subjects

The top-down roguelike shooter formerly known as Blackout Protocol has now re-emerged as Section 13, complete with a Q1 2025 release window across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms.

As revealed earlier today at the Future Games Show at Gamescom Presented by Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII, the artist formerly known as the Blackout Protocol has shifted gears and changed its name to Section 13, while maintaining the same pulse-pounding, top-down roguelike shooting. 

Stepping into the shoes of one of four S2P agents, you're sent deep underground into the vaults of Section 13, a harrowing research labs that's been overrun by its own nightmarish experiments. Death will send you back to the top floor of the research lab, but it's your job to delve as far as you can into the facility without meeting your untimely demise.

Boasting 13 guns, 6 throwable devices, and 9 melee weapons in early access on Steam right now, Section 13 is just getting started - there's more guns and gadgets to come. This might be a roguelike adventure in nature, but there are permanent upgrade systems to bolster your character and weapons for bigger and better firepower.

Section 13 currently offers 12 sprawling and shape-shifting levels, with three mini-bosses and one final, climactic boss showdown. These levels are all procedurally generated, so every new dive into the depths of the research facility and its murderous test subjects is a brand new gauntlet. 

If you're curious about Section 13, see the current result of more than a year's evolution in Steam Early Access right now for $12.99. 

If you’re looking for more action-packed adventures from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
A screenshot shows a Metal Eden protagonist standing with a large gun.
The studio behind one of 2017's most underrated shooters announced a new sci-fi FPS at State of Play, and it looks like Doom meets Armored Core
Fighting through environments destroyed by weather disasters in Exoborne
Extraction shooter Exoborne's extreme weather makes the world "a playground of verticality, unexpected discoveries, and dangerous combat spaces"
Paragliding in Exoborne towards a rig
Exoborne is striving to be an approachable open-world extraction shooter with a strategic edge: "I don't think there's anything quite like it"
Killing Floor 3 screenshots of a member of NIghtfall wearing a gas mask next to images of burning foes that surround the Big in 2025 logo
Killing Floor 3 is bringing us gloriously gory co-op FPS action in 2025, and Tripwire says it's "at its best when you are just barely surviving"
Screenshots of extraction shooter Arc Raiders
"With Arc Raiders, we wanted to lean into some of the contemporary conversations around robots and AI": Embark Studios talk creating an extraction shooter with bite
FBC Firebreak hero image for Big in 2025
After Alan Wake 2 and Control, FBC: Firebreak represents a bold new frontier for Remedy: "It's time to expand the Remedy Connected Universe into shared spaces and brave something new"
Latest in Roguelike
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of joker cards
Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"
Vampire Survivors screenshot showing a character shooting beams of light at surrounding enemies
Before selling millions of copies, Vampire Survivors creator says he'd "given up on the idea of success," and he's not interested in making something just to be successful
Balatro Joker card
"I was in super crunch mode": Balatro creator opens up on the toll the stress of indie development took on his "physical and mental health"
Latest in News
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke gives his official approval to the Stardew Valley mod that brings the D&D RPG to Pelican Town
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us season 2's Abby star Kaitlyn Dever admits it's been hard to not look at character backlash on the internet
John Bernthal The Punisher
Jon Bernthal teases upcoming "dark" Punisher special: "It's the version that this character deserves"
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima is still hung up on his ex, as Death Stranding 2 features a Metal Gear Solid doppelganger the director says is the spitting image of Solid Snake
Daredevil: Born Again
Elden Henson jokes that what happened to Foggy in Daredevil: Born Again went down because he ran over Kevin Feige's foot with his car
God of War Ragnarok
God of War turns 20 this month, but before you get too excited, Santa Monica Studio says "there are no planned announcements" at its celebratory panel