By Jon Scarr
Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bad Robot Games officially revealed 4:LOOP during The Game Awards 2025, introducing a new four-player co-op shooter set in an original science-fiction universe. The reveal included the game’s first gameplay trailer, offering an early look at how teamwork, risk, and failure shape each run.
At its core, 4:LOOP is built around cooperative play where improvisation matters. You and your squad take on missions designed to spiral out of control, pushing you to adapt on the fly rather than follow a strict path. The developers describe the experience as one where failing is not just expected, but part of learning how to survive long enough to save the world.
A Co-Op Shooter Designed Around Improvisation
Bad Robot Games co-founder Mike Booth, best known for his work on Left 4 Dead, says 4:LOOP builds on lessons learned from earlier co-op shooters while removing rigid structures. Unlike tightly guided levels, environments in 4:LOOP are wide open, leaving you and your team to manage risk and make moment-to-moment decisions together.
One notable change is how you interact with teammates under pressure. If someone goes down, you can physically pick them up and carry them to safety. That small shift changes how you approach encounters, especially when escape zones or powerful enemies are involved.
The design focuses on cooperation without forcing long setup phases. You jump into a session quickly, focus on the action, and figure things out together as situations unfold.
Roguelike Elements Shape Each Run
4:LOOP also pulls inspiration from roguelike design, adding variety and replay value without overloading you with menus or complex preparation. Each run presents new combinations of equipment, abilities, and environmental interactions that can dramatically change how encounters play out.
Booth shared an example from internal testing involving an item called a Blink Berry. These can be thrown like grenades, teleporting anything nearby to another part of the map. In one session, a tester used the item in an unexpected way to escape a lethal enemy attack and give the rest of the team enough time to survive. It was a strategy even the designers had not anticipated.
Moments like that are central to what 4:LOOP is trying to achieve. The systems are designed to encourage creative problem-solving and reward experimentation, especially when you are working closely with friends.
Understanding the Game’s Loop
Your long-term goal in 4:LOOP is to draw the attention of a powerful alien Mothership by disrupting its global mining operation. Each successful mission helps you build out your equipment and prepare for larger threats ahead.
The structure is divided into Acts, with each one escalating the challenge. If you and your team complete all three Acts, you face off against the Mothership in a final battle. Failure sends you back, but not empty-handed. Knowledge gained from previous runs, along with meta-progression systems, helps you approach the next attempt with a better understanding of the world and its dangers.
Learning how systems interact, discovering items like Blink Berries, and figuring out enemy behaviors are all part of progressing over time.
Closed Playtests Planned
While 4:LOOP does not yet have a release date, Sony and Bad Robot Games confirmed that closed playtests are planned. You can sign up through the official website to be considered for future testing phases.
For now, the gameplay reveal shown at The Game Awards 2025 offers a clear sense of direction. 4:LOOP is shaping up as a co-op shooter that values teamwork, adaptability, and those unexpected moments where things go wrong before they go right.