Bot Colony

Released: Jun 16, 2014
Platforms: Windows
Last updated: 04 Sep 2026, 16:39 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

14 May 2026Developer post
New Trailers, Multilingual Support, and Next Playtest
Greetings all, We're happy to announce the release of the official trailers for Bot Colony _Redux, along with new details regarding the game’s upcoming multilingual support and next Playtest. Here's the official trailer for Bot Colony _Redux . We also have a new, extended gamepla
Greetings all,
We're happy to announce the release of the official trailers for Bot Colony _Redux, along with new details regarding the game’s upcoming multilingual support and next Playtest.

Here's the official trailer for Bot Colony _Redux.
Watch on YouTube
We also have a new, extended gameplay trailer showcasing lots of content.
Watch on YouTube
Language is one of the core gameplay mechanics of Bot Colony _Redux, and making the game playable in multiple languages — or even a mix of two languages — opens the door to creative, funny, and natural interactions for players around the world.
Bot Colony _Redux is a multilingual sci-fi adventure where you can speak or type naturally to robots in English or 10 other languages. Play entirely in English — or mix languages for fun. Want to interrogate a robot in Korean, flirt badly in Spanish, argue in Russian, or switch between Portuguese and English mid-conversation? Go for it. The robots can switch too, which has already created some gloriously weird and hilarious moments during testing.

We'll be running another Steam Playtest (featuring all episodes of the game) soon, in preparation for Early Access. Players will be able to sign up through Steam and the Bot Colony _Redux Discord server.
Note: multilingual dialogue is not shown in the trailers; players will experience it for the first time in the next Playtest.

The team has been hard at work preparing the game for larger-scale testing, including:
Checkpoints across all episodes
Improved streaming and responsiveness
Humanity Tests with upgraded lip sync and facial animation
Two playable missions in the “Intruder” episode
Expanded “Arrival” episode content
Stealth-shooter gameplay in the “Riot” episode
Emotive AI-powered character voices
Real-time lighting improvements
Bot Colony _Redux combines immersive storytelling, real-time conversation, and AI-driven characters in ways that players haven’t experienced before.

We can't wait to show more and begin the next phase of our Playtest!
Original post
28 Jan 2026Developer post
Bot Colony _redux News
Hi all, We have a development update today for the new year (pardon the radio silence!). Bot Colony _redux is making steady progress, leveraging improved technology to deliver new features. Robot refresh Following our sweeping, game-wide remaster of environments in every episode
03 Sep 2025Developer post
Sneak Peek at revamped Arrival Episode in Bot Colony _redux! 🏝️🤖
Hello all! We are very pleased to share with you a few screenshots of our continuous hard work at reimagining Bot Colony with the tools and technology we have at our disposal today. Today's Spotlight: Arrival! And without further ado... Bot Colony _redux "Arrival" Screenshots We
02 Aug 2025Developer post
🚀 Bot Colony redux Playtest Begins!
Welcome Playtesters! Thank you for your interest in the Bot Colony _redux Playtest . For this first phase of the Playtest, we have a slice of the game's third episode for you to sample (and feedback!). This episode takes place on an oil rig in the Pacific Ocean, recently abandone
Welcome Playtesters!
Thank you for your interest in the Bot Colony _redux Playtest. For this first phase of the Playtest, we have a slice of the game's third episode for you to sample (and feedback!). This episode takes place on an oil rig in the Pacific Ocean, recently abandoned by human staff and taken over by robots!
Gameplay to Test:
In this smaller version of the episode we've prepared for the Playtest, you'll start by flying a Hunter Bot over the oil rig to remove some pesky sentries before landing. After landing, you'll experience several of the early mission-related dialogue challenges that will be featured in the full game. We've enabled 11 of our bot characters for open ended conversation. Discover their personalities as you reveal the story!
Keep your eyes peeled and your trigger finger ready, as hostile droids patrol the areas between the dialogue bots. If you get whacked by a patroller, it's not game over yet! You'll be captured and sent to the Humanity Test, where interrogator bots will grill you to determine if you're a flesh and blood human or a next-gen android sent to sabotage the robot rebellion. You'll have to be thick-skinned and resilient to deal with the bots' sadistic interrogation techniques!
Known issues:
You will encounter long loading times to enter the level (still being optimized), and you will experience bugs - to be expected in any pre-release software.
Feedback:
We urge you to post feedback and bug reports on the game's Steam forums and, if you like, please join the game's Discord server to leave comments there.
Click the FEEDBACK FORM option at the game's main menu to submit test feedback directly to the team.
Testing Uptime:
We've given each Playtest applicant a generous starting allocation of cloud resources to get started with gameplay.
The more active you are with feedback on the forums and Discord, the more uptime we will add to your account for cloud resources to play.
Haven't had the chance to apply yet? Hit that green “Request Access” button on our Steam page 👇
View game page
Additionally, we've created a helpful Quick Controls Guide to get you rolling, and inside the game you can check the HELP option in the pause menu for a complete list of controls.
Happy testing, and thanks again for your interest! Your feedback is critical to help us polish, tweak, and balance Bot Colony _redux before release!
- Team North Side
Original post
24 Jul 2025Developer post
2014 vs 2025 — Voice Recognition & AI Technology Improvements
Hey Bot Colony fans! We wanted to share a look at how Bot Colony _redux is evolving with a gameplay clip from our new Humanity Test , which will be part of the Playtest branch ( sign up here! ). This short scene features two AI interrogators testing whether a player is truly huma
09 Jul 2025Developer post
Bot Colony _redux — Riot Gameplay Teaser
Welcome to the future of NPC interaction. In Bot Colony _redux, you don’t pick from scripted choices. You talk, and they respond intelligently. 🎤 Real-time voice dialogue with AI NPCs 🤖 No dialogue trees. No pre-written scripts. 🔍 Investigate and command. 🧠 Every word matters
Welcome to the future of NPC interaction.
Watch on YouTube
In Bot Colony _redux, you don’t pick from scripted choices. You talk, and they respond intelligently.
🎤 Real-time voice dialogue with AI NPCs
🤖 No dialogue trees. No pre-written scripts.
🔍 Investigate and command.
🧠 Every word matters.
This gameplay trailer showcases a first look at our AI-powered conversation system, rebuilt from the cult classic Bot Colony, now in Unreal Engine 5. 🎮 Wishlist Bot Colony _redux on Steam now!
View game page🎮 Wishlist Bot Colony _redux on Steam now! View game page
📢 Join the community: https://discord.gg/kkyTFYNb3Q
🧪 Demo out NOW, Playtest SOON — Apply now for your chance to play early!
🌐 Learn more: https://botcolony.com
Original post
11 Jun 2025Developer post
🚀 Bot Colony _redux: Humanity Test Demo is NOW LIVE!
View game page We are thrilled (!) to invite you to try the first public demo of Bot Colony _redux as part of Steam Next Fest ! This is your chance to experience our signature real-time AI-powered conversations with NPCs, with no dialogue trees and no scripts; just whatever YOU w
03 Jun 2025Developer post
Ready for the FREE demo of Bot Colony _redux?
AI-driven communication with NPCs were recently featured in a high-profile Unreal Engine demo. But this vision has deep roots in indie development, too. Bot Colony _redux is our reimagining of the 2014 cult classic Bot Colony , fully rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. It features real-t
23 May 2025Developer post
📣 Bot Colony _redux Dev Update – Visual Leap Before & After
We are excited to share a sneak-peek into the visual transformation our game has seen over the past months and years of hard work! 🤩 Without further ado... ta-da! 🥳 What you see here is a 1:1 comparison of the same scene , one from earlier in development, and the other a comple
16 May 2025Developer post
🚨 Big News 🚨 FREE Bot Colony _redux Demo and Closed Beta
Whether you're a long-time fan of the original or totally new to the world of advanced natural language interaction with robots, this is your chance to experience a taste of what's coming. The demo features the same groundbreaking vision we've always shared — now with improved te
05 May 2025Developer post
Goodbye Bot Colony, hello Bot Colony _redux!
Thank you for your support! It will soon be 11 years since Bot Colony was launched - that's a LONG time, and I don't know how many of you still remember the game. I thank everybody who played Bot Colony and gave us money and/or feedback, positive or negative. We worked on the gam
20 Mar 2023Developer post
Updated SSL certificates.
Old SSL certificates had expired.
07 Dec 2021Developer post
Upcoming Bot Colony on Unreal - another sneak peek
Grabbing objects in Unreal 5 Bot Colony was released on Early Access in June 2014. It was built on top of the Havok Vision engine. To get a character to grab an object, we had to start with an FK ( Forward Kinematics, like extend arm to reach the vase) animation and switch to IK
05 May 2021Developer post
Bot Colony on Unreal - progress to date
We're not just porting Bot Colony to Unreal, we're developing a new, better game. Owners of Bot Colony on Vision will get access for free to the new game (Bot Colony Redux, or some other name). Bot Colony on Unreal will be crisper, faster and more responsive than on Vision. Dialo
28 Oct 2020Developer post
Feedback on the Sandbox
You can help by answering the Questions after watching the video, thanks! This is initial concept for the Sandbox setting (initially, next to the Intruder house) and the mood. The basic theme is a robot/android party where you can do fun things. It's a sandbox that you control (a
You can help by answering the Questions after watching the video, thanks!
This is initial concept for the Sandbox setting (initially, next to the Intruder house) and the mood. The basic theme is a robot/android party where you can do fun things. It's a sandbox that you control (alone or with others).
Watch on YouTube
We plan to start this as single-player with Jimmy and his friends, and evolve to multi-player (2-4 players). We'd appreciate hearing back - wishes, ideas, comments, any feedback you'd care to offer about how you could have fun with this Sandbox.
QUESTIONS

Any examples of what a character should be able to do?
What commands, animations and objects are needed?
How do you imagine the verbal interaction between the characters?
How should a player influence a character's performance?
How important to upload your own characters, objects and your own animations (all accessible through language)?
Would you like to extend/change the scene?
Anything else you'd like to offer.
Thanks for your feedback!
Original post
26 Sep 2020Developer post
First peek at upcoming Riot; The Sandbox
FIRST PEEK AT RIOT Each Bot Colony episode is a stand-alone game with its own setting, a chapter in the story. Riot follows Intruder and Arrival. It was never released before and will be published directly on Unreal. Riot continues the Bot Colony adventure - the Hunter Bot on whi
FIRST PEEK AT RIOT
Each Bot Colony episode is a stand-alone game with its own setting, a chapter in the story. Riot follows Intruder and Arrival. It was never released before and will be published directly on Unreal. Riot continues the Bot Colony adventure - the Hunter Bot on which you left the Airport makes an emergency landing on the Oil Rig.
The abandoned Oil Rig comes into view as you approach
As soon as you land, you encounter the natives (they haven't made it to UE4 yet :)
You'll realize you landed in the middle of a robot mutiny
You'll probably end up here and you'll have to prove you're human in order to survive
If you survive, other exciting places await you, and you'll hopefully manage to get out of them. if you do, you'll be on your way to the exciting Old Village, where robots try to 'do as people do' .
PLAYING IN THE SANDBOX
Some players complained that Intruder was about cleaning up a house. Unfortunately, finding out why the house was empty - the most exciting part of Intruder -, was not discovered by most of you as it's not accessible from a menu (you only find out about it if you follow the training text, and most folks skip it). The Unreal version fixes this problem. As many people enjoyed experimenting with commanding robots and talking to them, we plan to add a Sandbox outside the story. The Sandbox experience will be GTA-like mischief, achieved with AI's instead of cars or guns. Question for you: What fun things would you have robots (or androids) do at a party? Currently considering:

Playing music and dancing
Trashing the house.
Gambling.
Dressing funny.
Drinking and acting stupid.
Sex.
Would you be interested in designing your own character, adding new animations and deciding how it should react to events? This basically means autonomous characters, that could act by themselves at the party, talk to the other participants and do things by themselves. Would you like to control your character's every action, or would you rather train it, watch it in action, and stream it if it's fun? . The Sandbox will start single player, but will soon need to become multiplayer as a party of one is not much fun :) What features do you see for the Sandbox? We can start in this forum, and set up a Discord server when we have code we can put in your hands.
Original post
28 May 2020Developer post
Progress on Bot Colony port to Unreal
The Bot Colony airport upper level looks nice and crisp in UE4. We brought our Ayame character from Intruder into the airport lower level to test porting animations from the Vision version (in the previous announcement, we used Mixamo animations) We'll continue to keep you posted
11 Apr 2020Developer post
Bot Colony on the Unreal engine
As the Bot Colony original engine (Havok Vision) was discontinued, switching engine was mandatory in order to launch any new episodes. It just didn't make sense to us to make the big investment required for Riot and beyond with a discontinued engine. We've done some tests towards
27 Mar 2019Developer post
Bot Colony Major Update
Sorry it took so long! We’ve made some significant improvements. Please read KNOWN PROBLEMS - we need your feedback! We made the call to give you something NOW, even if not all the polish we wanted is there. NEW FEATURES You no longer lose your progress in Arrival after 1 - 2 hou
Sorry it took so long! We’ve made some significant improvements. Please read KNOWN PROBLEMS - we need your feedback! We made the call to give you something NOW, even if not all the polish we wanted is there.
NEW FEATURES

You no longer lose your progress in Arrival after 1 - 2 hours of play, which was frustrating. Arrival is now more playable, though it's far from where we want it to be. There are 4 checkpoints ( coded speech here to avoid spoilers): you get your Virtual Assistant, find blue, find green, 20?. This took TONS of work: we needed to save the game state, messages you receive, position of objects, events that happened – before a checkpoint. Several Known Problems come with this feature, please see below.
The game is faster, more responsive. However, during checkpoint save you'll think the game is frozen. It's not - wait a few seconds if you typed a command or asked question and nothing happens.
More contents. You can access previous robots’ conversations with passengers in Arrival. You can also investigate the background to something green ending up where it shouldn’t.
How do you know? after a robot answer returns source of knowledge (seeing, hearing, doing, programmed in factory with that knowledge).
Better question answering performance. Questions about a particular character will no longer return facts about another one if the verb and other words in a fact match your question – the character now takes absolute priority. Usually, Jimmy will assume you’re exploring events in the same time period his last answer was about. Understanding in Arrival still needs a lot of work.
Where was X at (Time) (on Date) is supported now, and helps you find key robot memories more easily in Intruder.
The experimental What do you see? question shown in an older YouTube video now works in Intruder, try it!
You can use your own words to refer to objects. For example, go to the scary red chair. You click on it to teach it. You can say Forget the scary red chair.
INTRUDER TIP We recommend you discover the robot memories before you play replacing objects in Intruder, to avoid failing because of the time limit. Find out about who lives there and what happened in the house in the last 48 hours, and discover the 14 Jimmy videos.
KNOWN PROBLEMS (BUGS) AND WORKAROUNDS

Playing through speech is no longer available due to cost! . Supporting Bot Colony ( above ) costs (WAY) more than what the game makes. Microsoft or Google charging by the hour for their speech-to-text doesn't help. PLAN: Make available high-performance speech-to-text through micro-transactions (1, 3, 5 hours for $2, $5 and $8). We're also contemplating a free Intruder level, playable through typing OR SPEECH (that will require micro-transactions). Finally, a bundle including 5 of hours of speech support (time roughly needed to finish the game ) – but that would only work for new players. We need your feedback on this!
You get to a saved game using CONTINUE but it takes 15 - 25 sec to retrieve it and load it , so please be patient if you’ve got a saved game!
After continuing a saved game, some robots can’t move any more (this doesn’t happen if you play Arrival in one shot). Both Charlie the Vacuum Bot and Cindy (the Cute Bot) are unable to move after a checkpoint. As a short term fix, we’ve made 2 endings of Arrival (one where Charlie moves if you play without checkpoints, the other he’s stationary).
Sometimes the Vacuum bot will open and close a certain door twice, and he'll be very insistent to play a game. You can ignore that if you don't need his help anymore.
You’ll sometimes see a blue sky with animated clouds after the 4th Arrival checkpoint (Charlie), just hit Escape and you’ll be in the game.
Teaching new commands (like ‘bring me a beer’, 'set the table') works better in Intruder than in Airport.
The style of Arrival is still guessing what makes sense to say in that situation and hoping the robot will understand. For players interested in the tech, we’ll need semantic frames plus a hybrid Machine Learning – rule-based approach (massive work) to improve that. Working on it.
Cases of a robot cutting off another (Miki and Jimmy, or Many and Mike speaking at the same time)
Joanna the taxi bot shows signs of dementia and repeats greetings.
Mary the X-ray technician asks you to respond to her previous question that you already answered - just ignore it.
Crash reporter appears at end of game and asks to send a Crash Report. Ignore it, hit Cancel.
The game menu appears when you hit ESC to close your first dialog with Tina (the receptionist in the Airport). Just click RESUME.
Even if you choose Jennifer Philips, the robots will still call you Mister Jennifer Philips. Sorry.
The baggage bot sometimes thinks you meant THE LAST briefcase you manipulated and turns to face it, or tells you it’s too far to reach. You can overcome this by moving it to another shelf before. TIP: Remember to use Up/Down Arrows to access the previous commands (you need that to save time when playing the timer game in Arrival). Also, use ‘rack’. Go the to Manila rack, Hong Kong rack etc – works. Then you can use Move Up, Move Down. NOTE Please appreciate we need to deal with subtle ambiguity, which is HARD. Imagine you have a green briefcase, put it somewhere, and THEN move to a shelf containing another green briefcase. In this situation, "Pick up the green briefcase" should refer to the latter, but "Where is the green briefcase now?", "Go back to the green briefcase", should refer to the former.
If you exit the console view in baggage claim before a bag is scanned, it reappears in "the claw" of Mike, but it's invisible. If you tell Mike to put it on the scanner again, it automagically reappears. Same with Jimmy game boxes in Intruder. Even if you don't see the yellow game box, Jimmy does:)
If you play with Charlie and he’s got to guess you’re thinking about him, you’ll see this: Charlie: I give up. What did you have in mind? player: You. Charlie: I haven't seen a you. Charlie: You have chosen something which does not exist in the airport. Charlie: You need to be honest.
That's about it :) We're still planning to release Riot eventually. Thanks for your support!
Original post
19 Nov 2018Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Have you played Bot Colony?
Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time. My name is Brendan, I say to the robot. I will call you Brendan from now on, it replies. What s my name, robot? I am a robot. Bot Colony is a game in which you give voice com

Updates & announcements

Welcome Playtesters!

Gameplay to Test:

Known issues:

Feedback:

Testing Uptime:

Here’s what’s improved since the original:

🎮 Wishlist Bot Colony _redux on Steam now!

View game page📢Join the community: https://discord.gg/kkyTFYNb3Q 🌐 Learn more: https://botcolony.com

Welcome to the future of NPC interaction.

View game page🎮 Wishlist Bot Colony _redux on Steam now! View game page

AI-driven communication with NPCs were recently featured in a high-profile Unreal Engine demo.

Without further ado... ta-da! 🥳

🧠 Speak with robots, investigate mysteries and test the limits of AI conversation.

💬 Join our community on Discord

🧪 Sign Up for the Closed Beta – Starts June 16!

Thank you for your support!

Plan going forward

Grabbing objects in Unreal 5

The Sandbox

QUESTIONS

FIRST PEEK AT RIOT

PLAYING IN THE SANDBOX

NEW FEATURES

KNOWN PROBLEMS (BUGS) AND WORKAROUNDS

**Without further ado... ta-da! 🥳**