The farming simulator genre has become increasingly popular over the last decade, with games like My Time at Portia and Stardew Valley seeing players sink hours of their lives into virtual agriculture. It seems Framebreak and Amplifier Game Invest are currently working on their own take on the fan-favorite genre through Lightyear Frontier, although the game comes with a notable twist: it's entirely set on an alien planet.

Revealed via a new trailer during Microsoft's ID@Xbox show earlier today, Lightyear Frontier already looks to be an ambitious take on the farming genre, offering an open-world sci-fi twist on crafting, resource management, and various other features associated with games of its ilk. It will even come complete with a mystery-driven story, with players able to unravel the cryptic past of the title's central setting through exploring ancient ruins and deciphering hidden messages.

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While the narrative definitely sounds intriguing, the farming portion is Lightyear Frontier's big draw, seeing players manage their plot of land while behind the rig of a giant mech. It will allow them to effortlessly cut down trees, tend to crops, build colossal silos, domesticate wild animals, and complete various other crucial objectives. According to the game's Steam page, they'll even be able to upgrade the hefty piece of machinery, ensuring it can farm quicker and overcome obstacles throughout the world.

Other features include four-player co-op, which allows intergalactic farmers to team up and build bigger plots of land, and a dynamic weather system, which will introduce environmental hazards for the player to contend with. Over on Steam, Framebreak reveals these changes in weather will occur over four seasons, teasing conditions ranging from bright summer days to heavy rainstorms. Lightyear Frontier currently has no release date, although the trailer confirmed it will be heading to early access when it eventually does hit Steam and Xbox.

The game's unveiling was one of many announcements made during today's ID@Xbox showcase, including the reveal that giant-monster-bound city sim The Wandering Village is slated to make its way to Xbox and Sam & Max Save the World Remastered is available on Microsoft's platforms starting today. The conference also showed off a game called The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, which is an audio-only adventure coming to PC and Xbox this month.

Those looking for some extra Microsoft news shouldn't have to wait too long, with the company confirming yesterday that it will be holding a Gamescom showcase on August 24 at 10:00 AM PT. According to the announcement, the show will focus on offering "in-depth updates" for previously announced Xbox titles, so fans should expect to hear more about Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 4, and several other Microsoft exclusives.

Lightyear Frontier is in development for PC and Xbox.

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Source: Steam