The 10th Planet

This article is about a cancelled space combat game. For the hypothetical planet beyond Neptune, see Planets beyond Neptune. For other subjects related to "tenth planet", see Tenth planet (disambiguation).

The 10th Planet was a cancelled space combat game that was to be published by Bethesda Softworks.

10th Planet
Developer(s)	Centropolis Entertainment Bethesda Softworks
Publisher(s)	Bethesda Softworks
Producer(s)	Bruce Nesmith[1]
Programmer(s)	Kaare Siesing[2]
Writer(s)	Roland Emmerich,[3] Dean Devlin[3]
Engine	XnGine[2][4][5]
Platform(s)	Windows[6]
Release	Cancelled

Gameplay

The 10th Planet is a 3D space combat strategy game where players defend the solar system from alien invaders.^[7] The game features over 100 customizable ship components, including engines, thrusters, shields, and weapons, with an emphasis on tactical spaceship building so players can fine-tune their ships.^[7]

Plot

In the distant future, the Solar System is a ravaged battlefield, and mighty starship armadas are the tools of our destruction. Using a previously unknown tenth planet orbiting the Solar System as its staging ground, an alien force plans on conquering Earth and destroying anything that gets in its way.

Development and marketing

Development for The 10th Planet began as early as 1994.^[7] It was showcased at E3 1995.^[4] The game was being originally developed jointly by both Centropolis and Bethesda. However, during the development phase, Centropolis chose to stop working on the game due to Centropolis's commitments to their films.^[8] Players who pre-ordered the game would receive a copy of XCar: Experimental Racing.^[9] The game was described as Star Fox meets X-Wing; PlayStation and Saturn versions were considered.^[6] According to Todd Howard, the game never made past pre-production.^[10]

Release

The game was originally to be released in 1996.^[11][12][3] This was pushed to October 1997^[13][8] and later to 1998.^[14][15]