Inven Global

'Teardown' is a sandbox action game where the entire environment making up the map is built from cube-shaped 'voxels', allowing players to experience nearly 100% destruction. In the story-driven main campaign, players must break through walls and position vehicles to plan an escape route before the alarm sounds, then grab the targets and escape within 60 seconds from the moment they touch the first object.

Just as essential as the campaign is the game's 'Sandbox' mode, where players can break the map to their heart's content. Despite lacking official Korean subtitles, the satisfying feedback of its physics engine—allowing relentless destruction and manipulation of objects—has made it popular content for famous domestic YouTubers and streamers, building a thick fandom. Its quality is already proven: out of over 75,000 user reviews on its Steam store page, 95% are positive, maintaining the highest rating of 'Overwhelmingly Positive'.

At Gamescom 2026 in Cologne, Germany, we met Tuxedo Labs, the developer of 'Teardown', now in its fourth year since release. CEO Marcus Dawson, Game Developer Olle Lundahl, and Community Manager Daniel Lindvall were present to share the direction of upcoming updates, including the addition of 12-player console multiplayer, the new 'Rally' mode, and the possibility of Korean localization.

12-player multiplayer was a feature that even the developers originally thought would be impossible. However, the studio pulled it off, and when the multiplayer mode supporting up to 12 players was added to the PC version last March, 'Teardown' reached all-time high concurrent player numbers. The developers' immediate next goal was to bring this experience to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

On September 15, Tuxedo Labs released a console multiplayer trailer and distributed a free multiplayer update for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Console players can now enjoy the same 12-player multiplayer as PC users. In addition to co-op play in the substantial campaign comprising 40 missions, competitive modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, as well as community-created modes like Prop Hunt, Battle Royale, and Zombie Survival, were opened all at once.

Additionally, with the application of the latest update, 'Mod Pack 6', console players can now enjoy around 30 new multiplayer-compatible mods, including 'Vehicle Sumo'. Two official new maps designed specifically for multiplayer were also revealed. 'Splitfield Estate', featuring the built-in 'Treasure Thieves' mode, and 'Cratertown', designed with a mirrored layout suited for team-based combat, were newly introduced, expanding the arena for destruction.

The technical hurdle was physics calculation. The 'Teardown' developers cited keeping 12 players' screens in sync amid an environment showering voxels as their biggest obstacle.

"Honestly, at first even our Chief Technology Officer (CTO) firmly stated, 'That's impossible.' They weren't sure if 12-player multiplayer would be feasible in an environment where countless voxels break. But we stuck with it, saying, 'Let's at least give it a try,' and eventually found the answer. Ultimately, we solved the problem by having every PC run physics calculations locally while the host sends down correction values, updating core data like player character models immediately, while deferring relatively less critical things like debris to a priority queue to differentiate synchronization intervals."

However, cross-play between platforms is not supported. This is because there are so many mods on PC that maintaining exact 'consistency' across platforms is difficult. Instead, the developers said they select only the most popular and proven mods from the vast PC community to bring over to consoles.

"Along with the console multiplayer update, a total of 180 community mods will be ported to consoles, 70 of which are compatible with multiplayer. Additional large-scale content will pour in, such as mods that whip up tornadoes, giant drones, or katanas."

What would it look like if the 'racing' genre crashed into a sandbox world centered on destruction and escape? In fact, the demand for vehicles and racing content has been steady within the 'Teardown' community, to the point where players created mini-games like 'Vehicle Sumo', where players push opponents out of the ring. As if responding to the community's desire, the developers shared the surprise news that they are preparing a completely new official mode called 'Rally', which brings the rules of destruction onto the track.

"As a free update at the end of this year, we plan to embed a full multiplayer racing game called 'Rally' inside 'Teardown'. Infused with true sandbox madness, the track itself breaks, and if your car breaks down, you can simply hop out, swap to a new car, and continue the team race in absolute mayhem—it's a very fun mode."

The player-created mod ecosystem, inspiring official updates like this, is a core pillar infinitely extending the game's lifespan. Currently, over 13,000 mods are available on the PC version. 'Mods within mods' are also common, where someone creates a base mod and other users layer assets onto it, such as maps or custom parts shops. Early on, maps had to be created by manually editing XML files, but now the PC version includes an official level editor, allowing any player to use the exact same tools as the development team to create their own playground of destruction.

Regarding the freedom players have to implement and modify mods, CEO Dawson defined the studio as 'Tech first'. He explained that they create differentiated results by establishing the technical foundation first before considering, "What kind of game can we make with this?"

"We don't use a standard rendering pipeline; instead, we use 100% ray-traced rendering. The contrast created by blocky, square voxels and highly realistic lighting completes the signature visuals of 'Teardown'. Until now, we used software-based ray tracing, but moving forward, our Swedish tech team has brought a next-generation engine utilizing hardware ray tracing to the final stages of development. Of course, no next project tied to this new engine has been decided yet—it's purely at the engine development stage."

Because 'Teardown' deals with destruction in-game and includes elements like energy drinks (Blue Tide) or dinosaurs with blood effects (T-Rex Bazooka mod), the console version received a 'Teen' rating (13+) from North America's ESRB. Even so, the actual player base is much broader. Character models do not break apart and instead bounce around like ragdolls, presenting a visual execution suitable even for younger players.

Regarding this, CEO Dawson said, "My son is three years old, and while he's not quite at the age to play PC games himself, the game isn't overly violent, so I play and show 'Teardown' to my kids. It's safe to enjoy with children. There are definitely family-friendly elements where parents and kids can sit side by side to play and laugh together."

The educational value of learning programming and coding while playing cannot be overlooked. The developers explained, "We have seen numerous cases of players who were first introduced to programming while making mods for 'Teardown', which inspired them to enroll in formal schools to study programming in earnest."

On the official 'Teardown' Discord channel, which has gathered nearly 40,000 members, dedicated channels to assist mod creation are systematically operated. Here, experienced veteran players enthusiastically answer questions from newcomers and pass on their creation know-how, creating a virtuous cycle that continuously fosters new modders.

When told that 'Teardown' has gained popularity among Korean streamers and gamers thanks to its uniquely satisfying destruction mechanics despite lacking official Korean language support, the developers on-site expressed surprise and deep gratitude. In response to the feedback that it is disappointing that while the Steam store page is available in Korean, in-game language support is still missing, the developers gave a decisive answer on the spot.

"That is a very interesting and sharp point. To repay the passionate interest of Korean players, I will contact our marketing team right away to seriously look into the possibility of Korean localization. We aren't a rigid organization with a packed schedule planned out two years in advance like other major studios. If we deem it a positive direction internally, even if actual translation and implementation take a few more months, we will flexibly adjust our schedule and definitely review it."

Finally, CEO Dawson concluded the interview by once again highlighting the charm of the dynamic sandbox to Korean fans.

"Korean gamers, I strongly encourage you to give 'Teardown' a try. And while you're at it, bring 11 of your friends along to noisily enjoy the pure chaotic destruction that 12-player multiplayer offers. If a brilliant idea strikes while playing, don't hesitate to try creating your own mods, which can serve as a great first step into programming."

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