Look, let's be honest—cooperative mining horror comedy game Coal Duty, developed by Corecrew, is heading to Steam in Early Access on August 27.

This 1 to 5 player cooperative extraction title drops a state-mandated mining quota squarely onto your shoulders, tasking the team with planning a cheeky escape. Roughly three generations ago, the skies froze over, prompting the state to take over mines and demand absolute compliance from every single worker. Beyond grinding out quotas, the crew can scavenge extra loot for the black market, spend tickets in the workshop between shifts, or trade illicitly with smugglers in restricted zones that the authorities definitely do not know about. Naturally, all this plotting happens via proximity voice chat, meaning the unknown horrors lurking in the next tunnel can overhear your master plan.

The Early Access build unlocks the full scope of the game, moving well past the single mine floor and two quotas offered in the previous demo. You are getting easy and hard difficulty mine levels, procedural mines spanning various biomes, the complete roster of creatures, and escape machinery previously kept under wraps. Two fully realised endings will be available at launch, with the developers estimating it takes about five hours to reach the first credits. The second ending awaits those brave enough to dig deeper or pick alternative escape routes.

The developer anticipates an Early Access run lasting 12 to 18 months, alongside a roadmap promising new escape routes, endings, creatures, biomes, expanded hub activities, and fresh tools and items. Coal Duty will launch supporting 13 languages, including Korean, Turkish, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese.

Meanwhile, the Coal Duty demo was previously made playable for free on Steam throughout the October edition of Steam Next Fest starting October 8.