To add meaning to their vapid lives, the elites of Mars raid the ruins of Earth for Merch, pop-culture relics such as old VHS tapes or vinyl records.

Players control a titular Hyena, a space-pirate from the Taint that raids enormous Plunderships on their way from Earth to Mars in an attempt to steal the Merch held within.

Wanting a game with broader commercial appeal, the studio's management decided to create a console-based online multiplayer shooter inspired by Destiny, Escape from Tarkov and PUBG.

[1] The game's feel was intended to be based on lovable rogues like Han Solo or the crew in Firefly, in a gritty sci-fi setting incorporating some realistic elements.

In 2019, filmmaker Neill Blomkamp visited the development team and provided feedback on the concept, creating a mood video and influencing the creative direction of the game towards collecting valuable pop-culture artifacts and inserting Internet humor.

Saying that he liked the combination of fast-paced team deathmatch and extraction shooter, he noted that it might have more of a chance of launch survival than he thought, but also expressing the opinion that the game would still "struggle to crack a saturated space".

[8] Jake Tucker of TechRadar stated that the game had an "overwhelming" pace and was set apart by its bright colors and vivid costumes, which, combined with its nostalgia, gave him the impression it was designed for newcomers to extraction shooters.