# FTL: Faster Than Light
**FTL: Faster Than Light** is a single-player, top-down real-time strategy roguelike in which the player commands a spaceship and its crew through a randomly generated galaxy, managing power distribution, weapons, shields, and crew assignments while fleeing a pursuing rebel fleet. It was developed by the indie studio Subset Games and released for [Microsoft Windows](https://www.edgepedia.org/microsoft-windows), macOS, and Linux on September 14, 2012, with an iOS version following.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/game/ftl-faster-than-light/?hd=1) • [3](https://www.macworld.com/article/667215/ftl-faster-than-light-ipad-game-review.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | September 14, 2012; PC, macOS, Linux, later iOS[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/game/ftl-faster-than-light/?hd=1) |
| Developer / publisher | Subset Games, founded by Matthew Davis and Justin Ma[4](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/designing-without-a-pitch---an-em-ftl-em-postmortem) |
| Funding | Kickstarter goal of $10,000; the campaign finished with over 20 times the goal, about $200,000 from roughly 10,000 backers[4](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/designing-without-a-pitch---an-em-ftl-em-postmortem) • [5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) |
| Advanced Edition | Free expansion adding a new alien race, events, weapons, playable ships, and drones; events by Tom Jubert and guest writer Chris Avellone, music by Ben Prunty[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) |
| Reception | Metacritic 84; Steam reviews 95% positive across 47,052 reviews[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) |
| Sales | About 100,000 units sold in the first month or two after launch[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) |
| Longevity | Still at least 1,000 concurrent Steam players on most days a decade after release; ranked #73 in PC Gamer's 2025 top 100 PC games[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) • [6](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-top-100-pc-games-2025/) |
## Gameplay
The player manages a ship rather than piloting it directly, giving orders to crew and controlling ship systems such as power, weapons, and shields.[7](https://www.mobygames.com/game/57826/ftl-faster-than-light/) Combat runs in real time but can be paused at any moment to issue orders, a structure that lets a single engagement involve rerouting power from weapons to shields, venting compartments to smother fires, or bombing the player's own ship to neutralize boarding parties.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) • [8](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-space-games/)
A run proceeds through randomly generated sectors filled with enemies, traders, and text-based events whose outcomes are also randomized. Permadeath is central: when the ship is destroyed, the run is lost.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) • [9](https://gamecritics.com/sparky-clarkson/ftl-faster-than-light-review/)
The game is deliberately difficult. Reviewers have noted that its randomness can create situations that cannot be won, and that its difficulty settings run from hard to hardest.[10](https://www.techspot.com/products/pc-games/ftl-faster-than-light.86110/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/game/ftl-faster-than-light/?hd=1) Subset's Justin Ma said the team wanted players to struggle with managing the ship's systems and to feel the cost of losing a crew member to a bad decision.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/)
## Development
[Matthew Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-davis) and Justin Ma began FTL as a hobby project after leaving 2K's Shanghai office, intending it as a resume builder between jobs rather than a commercial product.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) They started with only a target atmosphere, no planned genre, pacing, or scope, and expected development to take about three months; the game took roughly 18 months from conception to release.[4](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/designing-without-a-pitch---an-em-ftl-em-postmortem) • [11](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/road-to-the-igf-subset-games-i-ftl-i-) Their stated design aim was to put the player in the captain's shoes rather than the pilot's, drawing on board games such as Red November and the [Battlestar Galactica](https://www.edgepedia.org/battlestar-galactica) board game for crew management under pressure.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/)
The early prototype was far more ambitious, with direct ship movement, and was cut down after two or three months to the fixed-ship format.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) Exposure at Indie Games Festival China in 2011, where a stranger played the booth build for about an hour, and a public OnLive demo helped build pre-release word of mouth.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) • [12](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/how-competition-deadlines-whipped-i-ftl-i-into-shape)
**Kickstarter.** With savings running out, the two turned to [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) in early 2012, seeking $10,000. They reached the goal within hours and finished with over 20 times the goal, about $200,000 from roughly 10,000 backers, which led to a three-month crunch period as they tried to improve the game without pushing its release back too far.[4](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/designing-without-a-pitch---an-em-ftl-em-postmortem) • [5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) • [19](https://www.pocketgamer.biz/ftw-the-making-of-faster-than-light/) The funds let Subset pay composer Ben Prunty, who had worked pro bono, and hire writer Tom Jubert to improve the game's text.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/)
## Advanced Edition and later history
FTL: Advanced Edition is a free expansion for existing owners, adding a new alien race, events, weapons, playable ships, drones, additional music by Ben Prunty, and events by Tom Jubert and guest writer [Chris Avellone](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-avellone).[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) The game is available in nine languages, including English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) Vanilla FTL has no seeds or mutators; its run modifiers are limited to difficulty and the Advanced Edition toggle.[13](https://github.com/hintforge/ftl-faster-than-light/blob/main/settings.md)
Subset Games has never published detailed sales figures, but the developers reported 100,000 units sold within a month or two of launch, and a decade later the game still drew at least 1,000 concurrent [Steam](https://www.edgepedia.org/steam-service) players on most days according to SteamCharts tracking.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) The studio's follow-up, [Into the Breach](https://www.edgepedia.org/into-the-breach), was released in 2018.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/)
## Reception and influence
Critics received the game well: Metacritic lists a score of 84 based on 42 critic reviews, and Steam players rate it 95% positive across 47,052 reviews.[1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/game/ftl-faster-than-light/?hd=1) GameSpot's review credited its thrilling combat and strategic depth, and [PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer) framed it as the randomness-heavy starship command game its reviewers had wanted.[14](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ftl-faster-than-light-review/1900-6396645/) • [15](https://www.pcgamer.com/ftl-faster-than-light-review/) Common criticisms target punishing randomness and the difficulty of the final boss.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/game/ftl-faster-than-light/?hd=1)
[Ars Technica](https://www.edgepedia.org/ars-technica) places FTL alongside The Binding of Isaac and Spelunky as part of the group of games that popularized the roguelite genre in the early 2010s.[5](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/) PC Gamer's 2025 list ranked it 73rd of the top 100 PC games, with editors noting that many later roguelikes are described as "FTL but..." and that few successors matched its fundamentals.[6](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-top-100-pc-games-2025/) GamesRadar still counts it among the best roguelike and space games more than a decade after release.[8](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-space-games/) • [16](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-roguelikes-roguelites/) Its formula has continued to inspire successors, including the auto battler Down with the Ship and the roguelite Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes, both described by their coverage as inspired by FTL.[17](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/down-with-the-ships-demo-proves-its-a-worthy-spiritual-successor-to-the-space-faring-magic-captured-by-ftl-faster-than-light/) • [18](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-games/battlestar-galactica-scattered-hopes-is-a-relentlessly-oppressive-roguelite-inspired-by-ftl)
## References
1. [FTL: Faster Than Light on Steam, Valve](https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/)
2. [FTL: Faster Than Light Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/ftl-faster-than-light/?hd=1)
3. [FTL: Faster Than Light iPad game review, Macworld](https://www.macworld.com/article/667215/ftl-faster-than-light-ipad-game-review.html)
4. [Designing without a pitch - An FTL postmortem, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/designing-without-a-pitch---an-em-ftl-em-postmortem)
5. [10 years of FTL: The making of an enduring spaceship simulator, Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/ten-years-of-ftl-the-making-of-an-enduring-spaceship-simulator/)
6. [The top 100 PC games (2025), PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-top-100-pc-games-2025/)
7. [FTL: Faster Than Light (2012), MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/game/57826/ftl-faster-than-light/)
8. [Best space games 2026, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-space-games/)
9. [FTL: Faster Than Light Review, Gamecritics.com](https://gamecritics.com/sparky-clarkson/ftl-faster-than-light-review/)
10. [FTL: Faster Than Light Pros and Cons, TechSpot](https://www.techspot.com/products/pc-games/ftl-faster-than-light.86110/)
11. [Road to the IGF: Subset Games' FTL, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/road-to-the-igf-subset-games-i-ftl-i-)
12. [How competition deadlines whipped FTL into shape, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/how-competition-deadlines-whipped-i-ftl-i-into-shape)
13. [FTL: Faster Than Light settings, hintforge on GitHub](https://github.com/hintforge/ftl-faster-than-light/blob/main/settings.md)
14. [FTL: Faster Than Light Review, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ftl-faster-than-light-review/1900-6396645/)
15. [FTL: Faster Than Light review, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/ftl-faster-than-light-review/)
16. [The 25 best roguelike games to play in 2026, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-roguelikes-roguelites/)
17. [Down with the Ship's demo proves a worthy spiritual successor to FTL, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/down-with-the-ships-demo-proves-its-a-worthy-spiritual-successor-to-the-space-faring-magic-captured-by-ftl-faster-than-light/)
18. [Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a roguelite inspired by FTL, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-games/battlestar-galactica-scattered-hopes-is-a-relentlessly-oppressive-roguelite-inspired-by-ftl)
19. [FTW: The making of Faster Than Light](https://www.pocketgamer.biz/ftw-the-making-of-faster-than-light/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual PC and computer-platform game titles › Strategy and tactics titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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