Games were simpler in 1979. if a game was called Asteroids, you could be certain that the game would involve shooting at asteroids. Charmingly literal titles were all the rage, which makes things challenging for companies hoping to reboot their valuable brands in 2015.

Following last year's Alone in the Dark and Haunted House reboots, Atari has announced Asteroids: Outpost. If you were hoping for a topdown shooter then hold onto your pants. It's actually an open world survival sandbox game. That sounds a bit weird, but don't worry: it's set on an asteroid.

There are few details to go on, but according to the announcement you'll play as a deep space miner trying to survive in "the asteroid belt". The multiplayer title will see "players mine, build and defend their base and grow their fortune as they go 'from rocks to rocks'".

"While on a massive, unforgiving asteroid, players face the challenges of exploring the asteroid, collecting resources, scavenging for ore, crafting equipment, and expanding their territory as they build highly customized bases - all while forming alliances and fighting off other players in challenging multiplayer gameplay," the announcement reads.

Here's the clincher though: while tapping into the DayZ / Rust / survival zeitgeist, the game will also involve shooting at asteroids after all! Small asteroid showers will occur intermittently, requiring players to shoot them down in order to salvage their resources.

Here are some more images. The game is "coming soon".