Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War
"Descent: FreeSpace" was well received as a single-player space simulation that integrated all the desired features of its genre, from competent AI wingmen, to the presence of large capital ships that not only dwarf the fighters piloted by the player, but also explode spectacularly when destroyed. However, the game's multiplayer mode was criticised, as it was plagued by lag and inaccurate tracking of statistics. An expansion for the game, which was less well received, was also released in 1998 under the title of "Silent Threat", and focuses on events after the main game's campaign with the player working for an intelligence branch of the Terrans' armed forces that later attempt to overthrow the Terran government. A sequel to "Descent: FreeSpace" entitled "FreeSpace 2", was released in 1999 to critical acclaim.
Descent (1995 video game)
In November 2014, several former developers for the "Star Citizen" game, led by Eric "Wingman" Peterson announced that they were forming Descendent Studios to work on a multiplayer game similar to "Descent" in play style, and with the working title "Ships That Fight Underground". The company was approached by Interplay in December and a deal was struck to license the "Descent" name and to reboot the entire Descent franchise to Descendent Studios. In March 2015, Descendent Studios announced a Kickstarter for "Descent: Underground", a new prequel using Interplay's existing IP rights to the "Descent" franchise (with Parallax owning the remaining IP, such as the original Pyro GX ship and music). It is powered by Unreal Engine 4 and has a planned release date of fall 2018. The game is to be released in 2019 under the name "Descent".