ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS — September 14, 2023 — Today, indie developer Total Mayhem Games surprises Explorers by releasing a previously unannounced installment of We Were Here, the popular co-op puzzle franchise with almost 10 million players worldwide. Play We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip for free across PC, PlayStation and Xbox until October 13. Anyone can enjoy this bite-sized We Were Here experience with their friend — no matter who they are, how close they are or what platform they use!

The FriendShip is the first game of the new series We Were Here Expeditions and serves as the ultimate friendship test In The FriendShip, you and your co-op partner face a series of puzzling trials, designed to test your Communication, Teamwork, and Trust!

Explorers can now play the co-op puzzle game together for free on PlayStation 5 & 4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, Epic Games Store and Steam. The game has just been revealed live at WASD x IGN, where visitors can now come to the Total Mayhem Games booth to play and celebrate the release with the developers!

Marion Strumpel, Marketing Director at Total Mayhem Games, is excited to finally talk about the new game, “After the success of We Were Here Forever, we were really looking forward to doing something special to celebrate our ‘friendchise’. We wanted to offer all gamers — no matter who they are or where they come from, whether they’ve played all of our games or none of them — a chance to enjoy the charm of the We Were Here Series, which is exactly what we’re doing with The FriendShip and its free release. We hope everyone enjoys this adventure, as we believe it is a well-deserved treat for all.”

Will your FriendShip truly last forever? Take the test now!
At the start of The FriendShip, two Explorers are out at sea when they receive the mysterious distress call that [spoiler alert] is also heard in the beginning of We Were Here Together. After pursuing the signal, the Explorers stumble upon a deserted island where an abandoned amusement park filled with puzzling trials awaits them. These challenges require partners to work together, one way or another. It’s time for both experienced Explorers and uninitiated newcomers to grab their walkie-talkies and start solving these puzzles!

Unlike the previous games, The FriendShip offers a more casual experience where the focus lies not on escaping but on having fun together and testing the strength of your friendship. This bite-sized standalone We Were Here adventure is the perfect starting point for anybody curious about the series and is all about Communication, Teamwork and Trust!

How well the Explorers succeed in overcoming these brain-teasing challenges directly affects the state of their (friend)ship, which will visually reflect the score awarded for their teamwork. Explorers can show off the proof of whether their friendship stood tall in the face of such brain-racking adversity via a shareable and personalized, animated end-screen. Failure is not the end and instead offers an opportunity for improvement, since Explorers can attempt the puzzles as many times as they like. Veteran Explorers can grab this chance to achieve the perfect score and show off their communication and puzzling skills!

Friends can play this asymmetrical co-op puzzle game together across all platforms! The FriendShip is free to claim on Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation 5 & 4 until October 13. Xbox players gain free access to the game on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One for ten hours after starting the trial. From October 14 on, The FriendShip will be available for € 3,99 / $ 3,99 / £ 2,99 on all platforms.

To celebrate the release of The FriendShip, indie hit We Were Here Forever is available at a discount of 35% on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation and Xbox until September 28.

Bite-sized We Were Here experiences
We Were Here Expeditions allows the developers behind the renowned We Were Here Series to tread a new path, opening up endless possibilities for future games while maintaining the co-op gameplay the series is known for.

Expeditions will serve as an introduction to the series for new players or just a fun ‘e-night out’ with bite-sized, We Were Here-flavored puzzling experiences that take one or two hours to complete. With asymmetrical co-op puzzles and communication via walkie-talkies, the Expeditions will include everything the We Were Here Series has to offer, focusing primarily on the experience of gaming together instead of escape room gameplay. While these adventures are slightly interwoven with the main installments of the franchise, they do not require prior knowledge and can be enjoyed as social puzzle experiments with a friend.

Thanks to Expeditions, new Explorers can get a taste of We Were Here’s trademark co-op puzzle fun, while long-time fans can explore more of the We Were Here world!