Tripwire Presents and Turkish studio BEF Games have launched The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire in full on PC, taking the open-world crime management game out of Early Access with its 1.0 release on Steam.
According to a release, the game is out now for $18.99. A 20% launch discount runs until November 10th. Early Access lets players buy a game while it is still in development; the 1.0 version marks the point where the studio considers it complete. BEF Games says community feedback shaped the game throughout that period.
The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire mixes third-person action with running an illegal business empire. Players build a crew, take over territory and fight rival crime families across Night City (the game's fictional setting).
What's new in version 1.0
The headline additions are high-speed vehicle chases. Players hunt down rival syndicate targets while trying to shake off the police. Those forces get more aggressive over time, according to the release. Enemy factions and law enforcement now actively go after the player's crew.
New luxury safehouses are also part of the update: a mansion with character training facilities and a vehicle showroom, plus a Casino Penthouse with ‘the best view in town’. Both can house several characters at once, so the whole crew can live under one roof.
Seasons and dynamic weather change the look of the city during operations. They can be switched off in the settings. New cinematics play whenever a rival crime family is wiped out, with a final one for taking over the whole city. Twenty rare items (found in safes or dropped by rival bosses) give characters stat bonuses.
Full controller support now covers driving, combat and menus. The 1.0 release also brings stability fixes and performance work.
“Developing our very first game has been an incredible journey and we couldn't have done it without our dedicated community,” said Emre Yasak, Lead Producer at BEF Games. Yasak added that the launch ‘isn't the finish line but the start of something even bigger’.
Bryan West, Publishing Director at Tripwire Presents, said: “The 1.0 launch for The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire is the capstone of years of effort and realizes the team's dream to create this amazing crime-sandbox experience.”
After launch, BEF Games plans regular free content updates, ongoing improvements and paid add-on packs. A 1.0 launch trailer was released alongside the news.
BEF Games is an independent studio from Turkey; The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire is its first game. Tripwire Presents is the publishing arm of Tripwire Interactive, the studio behind the Killing Floor and Rising Storm series, which it says have sold over 30m units combined. Its shark action role-playing game (RPG) Maneater has sold over 14m units since 2020, according to the company. Tripwire Interactive operates as a standalone entity within the Embracer Group.
The following was sent as a press release to Inven Global.
