The Future Games Show 2026 has announced a new story DLC for The Alters, The Alters: Last Variable, which will be released on July 13, 2026, on PC and consoles.
11 Bit Studios’ The Alters released last year and follows Jan Dolski, who is stranded on a mysterious planet after his ship, which was searching for a substance called Rapidium that Earth desperately needs to solve its hunger crisis, crash-lands there. As the sole survivor of the crash, Jan is forced to use the Rapidium that he discovers on the planet to clone himself. But this process comes with a twist as he can also manipulate the life paths of his clones, altering their personality and skills to match a backstory that never happened. One of these clones who becomes integral to Jan’s mission is Jan Scientist, who, depending on whether the player follows his side quest in the base game or not, can discover an impossible oasis on the barren planet and decide to stay there and study it.
The Last Variable follows Jan Scientist and his mission on the oasis. 11 Bit Studios has confirmed that Jan Scientist will need to both clone himself and create new alters: a Geologist, Biologist, Chemist, or a Physicist – and will face similar issues that the original Jan had with his alters, with each variant having an opposing view on science and their mission. On top of this, Jan Scientist will be spending years in cryosleep in his underground base while waiting for the planet’s sun to move position, which other alters won’t have the privelage of – with the trailer showing an older alter listening to an audio log left by Jan Scientist who won’t be awake for another 13 years, with the alter hinting to there being multiple cycles during their research – they will possibly need to keep cloning themselves to continue their research past their lifetimes.
The Last Variable promises new gameplay mechanics, underground base building, and an improved gameplay loop which focuses on terraforming the desolate planet into a habitable oasis. As players terraform the planet, the landscape around them will shift, creating new areas to explore during the planet’s cooldown periods while the sun is at bay, as well as uncovering new obstacles and dangers.
We’ll be covering the Summer Games Fest all weekend, so stay tuned for more game announcements!
