Expendabots Demo Deploys Co-Op Robot Crews Into the Biolab on Steam

Expendabots has opened its first playable deployment for aspiring robot scavengers. Blue Brain Games and developer Collision Games released a demo for the co-op horror extraction game on Steam for PC and Mac on October 9, 2026. The demo introduces players to the game's high-risk loop of entering hostile locations, gathering useful resources, improvising equipment in the field and getting back out before a dangerous expedition becomes a costly mechanical disaster.

Built for one to four players, Expendabots puts squads in the metal shells of deliberately expendable workers. Their designation may imply that replacing a unit is routine, but the game's systems suggest players will have plenty of reasons to value every teammate that makes it back to the airship. The playable demo centers on the Biolab dungeon, where players will face its specific set of enemies and environmental challenges while learning the basics of movement, crafting and extraction.

A co-op extraction game where noise can get everyone noticed

At its core, Expendabots is structured around expeditions into procedurally generated islands and dungeons. That procedural approach means players should not expect every run to unfold in exactly the same way. Routes, resources and threats can force a squad to alter its plans on the move, making communication, caution and a willingness to adapt central to surviving an outing.

The horror angle comes not just from what may be waiting around the next corner, but from the behavior of the creatures inhabiting these spaces. Enemies can react to sight, sound, or a mixture of both. Players will therefore need to think beyond simply bringing the biggest possible tool or sprinting toward an objective. Visibility, movement and the sounds made by a group all have the potential to turn an otherwise manageable run into a scramble for the extraction point.

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That tension is heightened through proximity voice chat. Rather than treating conversation as something safely detached from the game world, Expendabots makes player speech part of the risk calculation: enemies can hear the squad. A casually shouted warning, a panicked reaction or a loud discussion about which hallway to take could attract unwanted attention. It is a feature that can create memorable co-op moments, but it also gives teams a practical reason to decide when silence is more valuable than a full conversation.

For groups accustomed to constant voice coordination, the system may demand a change in habits. Short callouts and awareness of each other's position could become as important as identifying loot. For solo players, meanwhile, the same reactive-enemy design means the environment itself still requires careful reading. The game's extraction focus places a premium on knowing when to push deeper for more rewards and when to accept what has already been found and leave intact.

The Biolab serves as the demo's first destination

The demo begins aboard the Airship, which functions as the starting point before crews descend into the Biolab. This dungeon is the featured location for the trial version and is designed to showcase the game's enemy encounters, exploration challenges and survival tools. It also includes a tutorial intended to explain controls, the crafting process and the steps needed to successfully extract.

For another perspective on this story, read Expendabots Demo Opens the Biolab for PC and Mac Players.

That onboarding is particularly important because Expendabots combines several mechanics that can affect a run at once. Players are not simply collecting items for an end-of-level score. Loot has an immediate practical use, as it can feed into the equipment systems that help a team respond to an evolving situation. Understanding when to hold onto supplies, when to turn them into gear and when to retreat is likely to define the difference between a clean recovery and a failed expedition.

Progression in the demo is capped at level 5. The cap establishes the release as a focused preview rather than a full presentation of every long-term progression possibility planned for the game. Still, it gives players room to experience the early advancement loop and test how a crew's decisions change from one run to the next within the Biolab setting.

Portable 3D printers make scavenged filament matter

One of Expendabots' defining ideas is that every robot comes equipped with a portable 3D printer. Instead of depending entirely on pre-mission loadouts or hoping that the right item happens to appear in a crate, players can use filament recovered during exploration to manufacture supplies while they are out in the field.

The announced examples include gear, emergency power cells and decoys, alongside other field items. This turns scavenging into more than a straightforward hunt for valuables. Filament represents flexibility: it can be retained until the team better understands what lies ahead, or spent quickly to address an immediate problem. A crew facing a low-power situation may need an emergency cell. One trying to redirect attention from a pursuing enemy could find a decoy more useful. In either case, teams must decide whether an item is worth the materials and the time required to create it.

The printer also reinforces the game's theme of resourceful machines working under pressure. Expendabots are not presented as superheroes with limitless equipment. They are workers trying to make do with what they can retrieve from a hazardous site. The ability to fabricate tools adds agency, but it does not remove the danger posed by alert enemies, uncertain layouts and the need to eventually escape.

For cooperative teams, this should create room for distinct play styles even within a shared objective. A cautious group may stockpile filament and avoid unnecessary confrontations. A more aggressive crew might print useful equipment early in an attempt to gain control of the route ahead. Neither approach eliminates the fundamental extraction question: can the squad carry its gains out of the dungeon?

Being expendable does not mean leaving teammates behind

Expendabots gives fallen players a path back into the mission through its mechanical-heart system. When an Expendabot is lost, its mechanical heart can make its way back to a newly printed body. Teammates can also recover the heart themselves, offering another way to preserve the group.

This mechanic gives failure a different shape than an immediate, permanent end to a player's involvement. A squad that loses someone is encouraged to assess the situation rather than automatically write that teammate off. Recovering a heart can become a rescue objective layered on top of the ongoing need to gather resources and reach extraction. Printing a new body, meanwhile, ties survival directly back into the 3D-printing economy and the materials a team has managed to secure.

There is also a strong co-op dynamic in the choice. Retrieving a teammate's heart could require moving into a dangerous area or delaying a retreat. Leaving it behind may make extraction safer in the short term, but it means the team is giving up a chance to restore its numbers. Because the game supports groups of up to four players, losing even one member could substantially change how a crew handles threats, explores rooms or manages its available supplies.

The idea fits the game's deliberately bleak but playful premise. The robots may be called expendable, yet their hearts are important enough to recover, protect and rebuild around. That contrast gives the game's extraction runs an extra layer of personality: replacement bodies may be possible, but the squad is still encouraged to act like each member matters.

What players can try in the Steam demo

The current Steam demo is an opportunity to sample Expendabots' central systems before the complete game's broader experience is detailed. Players can begin from the Airship, enter the Biolab, learn how its controls and extraction systems work, experiment with portable fabrication and encounter threats that react to what they see and hear. It also offers the chance to test the proximity voice chat feature with friends, though players may quickly discover that loud coordination has consequences.

• Play alone or with up to three other players in online co-op.
• Explore the Biolab dungeon, with procedural generation supporting changing expeditions.
• Scavenge loot and filament during runs.
• Use each Expendabot's portable 3D printer to create gear and useful field equipment.
• Manage threats that respond to sight, sound or both.
• Use proximity voice chat, with enemies able to hear players talking.
• Recover a fallen teammate's mechanical heart or print a new body to bring them back.
• Progress through the demo up to its level 5 cap.

Expendabots is available to try now through its demo on Steam for PC and Mac. For players looking for a cooperative horror game where communication can be as dangerous as any weapon, the Biolab offers an early test of whether their crew can keep quiet, stay supplied and make it back to the Airship together.