Every 8 levels, the player must face a boss and, if victorious, are rewarded with keys that can be used to unlock new content such as new weapons.

As a result, O'Broin started development on Crab Champions at the end of 2018 using Unreal Engine 4, being inspired by other roguelike games such as Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac.

He wanted to create a game that was both challenging and fun, and he felt that the combination of third-person shooter and roguelike elements would be a perfect fit.

[citation needed] O'Broin began working on Crab Champions full-time after putting a pause on his music career in 2018, following his release of "Breakout".

[7][8][5][9][10][11][better source needed] Crab Champions was met with positive reviews when it entered Early Access.