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Dread Protocol

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Dread Protocol

Meat Lab · Published by Meat Lab

Content notice: Cartoony blood splats & head explosions

Positive — 85% positive (26 reviews) · 31 achievements

Last updated 27 Sept 2026

Dread Protocol is a 3rd-person roguelite blending FTL-style events and navigation with brutal, punishing combat. Explore procedurally generated space stations, carve your path through destructible walls, and dismantle the Federation one station at a time.

Early AccessDJCTQ 14Full Controller Support

£6.99

Lowest price we've ever recorded

View on Steam

Prices can lag the live Steam store — always confirm before buying.

Price history

4 Sept 2026Lowest: £6.99 · Highest: £6.999 Oct 2026

Action, Indie, RPG, Early Access · 2025 · More £5 - £15 games

Embark on perilous missions through procedurally generated space stations as you navigate and battle your way against the Federation. Use destructible walls to carve out your path in Dread Protocol, an intense roguelite experience from Meat Lab.

About this game

  • A 3rd-person action-roguelite space adventure that seamlessly blends text-based events with procedurally generated dungeons, offering hundreds of hours of replayability.

  • Aggressive, brutal combat that leaves no room for mercy - permadeath is a constant threat.

  • A plethora of guns, each leveled and uniquely seeded for countless combination possibilities.

  • Procedurally generated levels ensure that no two playthroughs are alike, with over 4 billion seeded runs.

  • Destructible environments allow you to carve your way through each space station, creating new flanking opportunities or launching enemies into space.

  • 14 levels, each with its own set of enemies, environment, and distinctive feel.

  • Over 100 unique cybernetics and pieces of equipment to fuel your creativity.

  • A deep and rewarding Skill Tree.

System Requirements

Will my PC run this? →

Minimum

Minimum:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS *: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit versions)
  • Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz / AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD R9 270
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 5 GB available space

Recommended

Recommended:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS *: Windows 7/8/10/11 (64-bit versions)
  • Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 3770 3.4 GHz / AMD CPU AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290X
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 5 GB available space

Supported Languages

English*, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Turkish
*languages with full audio support

Latest news

  • Patch NotesOfficial

    Quality of Life Update

    Hey everyone! Hows it going? I'm feeling fresh, just came back from Holiday, I've actually been sitting on this update for a couple of weeks now but couldn't push the build live because I was abroad and couldn't pass the security checks haha. Wanted to give a special thanks to 'Dumbgamer99' for their feedback on discord, the majority of these Quality of Life Changes (QoL) were a direct result of their playtesting and conversations we had there. Thanks!
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Meat Lab)
  • Patch NotesOfficial

    FPS + Swords - Hotfix 2

    Mouse & Aiming Mouse look is now frame-rate independent. Turn speed was previously scaled by frame time, so your effective sensitivity shifted slightly as your frame rate moved. On a locked frame rate (V-Sync or a set FPS cap) this was invisible: you set the slider once and it stayed put. But on uncapped, high-refresh or G-Sync/FreeSync setups, or during heavy scenes where the frame rate dips, aim could feel a little faster or slower than it did a moment earlier. One sensitivity setting now means one feel, everywhere. Sticky aim is now controller-only. The slight aim slow-down as your crosshair passes over an enemy is a controller assist, but a small amount of it could apply to mouse input too, most noticeably in the opening moments of a session, or when a controller was connected alongside your mouse. Mouse and keyboard now ignores it entirely. Controller aim is unchanged. If you play uncapped or on a high-refresh display, you may want to take a quick look at your mouse sensitivity slider after this update. Aim will feel slightly different now that it's locked to a consistent baseline. Audio Companion drones (M.U.T.T. and Defense) no longer hum while you're on the star map. Thank you KeyMongSang for bringing the mouse sensitivity to my attention in this review https://steamcommunity.com/id/khs7332/recommended/2629280 P.S. I also fixed the issue you had with allies hiding in walls in the main FPS + Sword update 감사합니다 James
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Meat Lab)
  • Patch NotesOfficial

    FPS + Swords - Hotfix 1

    Added hints to all three controls pages in Settings explaining how to switch viewpoint: hold 'Swap View' to toggle first person, tap to swap shoulder. Fixed incoming warnings (drop pods, boarding parties, low fuel) showing "AIRLOCK EQUALISING PRESSURE" instead of the correct alert. Fixed a rare issue where a tutorial popup could stay stuck on screen while the game kept running. A stuck popup now closes itself and returns control. Incoming warnings are now translated in all 11 languages. Loadout weapon type names (SMG, Heavy, etc.) are now translated. Corrected Rebel Cell translations in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Polish. Assorted missed translations fixed across all languages.
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Meat Lab)
  • AnnouncementsOfficial

    The Demo Has Returned

    Hey everyone!A quick one for those of you who want to try before you buy: Dread Protocol's demo is live once again, after being unavailable for over a year.Why was it gone?Development has been moving fast, new features and improvements are landing every month and the demo's quality fell way behind the main game. Rather than maintain two versions, I chose to pause the demo. Things have changedTwo things have changed since. First, I've reworked my build process, so the demo now stays up to date with the main game at no extra cost to development. Whatever the full game gets, the demo gets. Second, the original demo was honestly too generous, giving away about a third of the game, so the new one ends once you've completed your second station. That's enough to get a proper feel for a run and know whether it's for you.One last thing: your progress carries over into the full game, so nothing you earn in the demo is wasted. Cheers, James.
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Meat Lab)
  • AnnouncementsOfficial

    First Person Mode, Swords, Cybernetics overhaul and so much more

    This is the biggest update Dread Protocol has had yet. It touches almost every part of the game: a full first-person mode, a brand-new sword combat system, a complete rework of the cybernetic system (the boons), new weapon attachments and gun juice, deployment briefings to give you more context when boarding a station, a reworked store, real difficulty scaling, and a long list of fixes and quality-of-life improvements - many of them straight from your reports and reviews. Thank you for those. Keep them coming.The original plan was to split this update into three or four smaller ones: swords, first person, cybernetics, and so on. But the more I worked on each, the more I realised how well they complemented and fed into each other. So here I am with a hulking big update for the gameSo grab a drink! There's a table of contents for a reason.  In this update First-Person Mode Sword Combat Cybernetics Overhaul: 18 New Augments Deployment Conditions Three New Floor Status Effects Difficulty Scaling Weapon Gadgets: The Fourth Attachment Slot New Equipment: Decoy Player Loadouts Aiming Gun Feel Improvements Getting Spaced Store Quality of Life Enemies, Bosses & Pathfinding Overlapping Door Fix UI & Inventory Everything Else First-Person ModeDread Protocol is now fully playable in first person. Hold the Swap View button any time to switch between third and first person whenever you feel like it.It's doubly useful as you can now use the scopes on each weapon.I personally still like to use third person when I’m using a rocket launcher or want to peek around corners.  Real scope overlays. Aiming through a scope in first person brings up a proper scope view. Every scope model has its own overlay: circular, vertical, horizontal, square, hexagonal and octagonal lens shapes, each with their own reticle styles and accent colours that match the weapon's materials.  First person is something I'll keep tuning, so tell me how I can improve it. It also pairs rather well with a sword in yo...
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Meat Lab)

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