Seattle-based game developer System Era Softworks will be launching its space exploration game, "Astroneer," towards the end of the year.

System Era has recently announced on the official "Astroneer" blog that the game will be simultaneously launched on Steam, Xbox One and Windows 10 Store in December via Early Access.

In sci-fi exploration and adventure game "Astroneer," players will take control of space adventurers who will journey through different planets to "seek their fortune in the far reaches of the galaxy," as the official blurb states.

As an astroneer, players must explore vast, procedurally generated worlds to find precious artifacts and uncover mysteries along the way. Check out the Early Access trailer for the game below.

We have first heard about "Astroneer" in October last year. Most have probably not heard of it until now, however, since fans were too busy fawning over Hello Games' own space exploration game, "No Man's Sky" at the time. Unfortunately, "No Man's Sky" has failed to live up to the hype.

While "Astroneer" may be more likened to Mojang's popular game "Minecraft," one cannot avoid comparing the indie game to "No Man's Sky," as they are both set in procedurally generated worlds in space.

However, the similarities end there, because unlike "No Man's Sky," "Astroneer" has a fully functional multiplayer mode, where up to four people can play the game via online co-op.

"Friends who play together will be able to work together in the same physical space, solving problems together and interacting directly," "Astroneer" creator Adam Bromell told Popular Science.

The game will also feature what they call "indirect co-op." "Eventually, players will want to split up and work together while on different sides of a planet or even on different planets," Bromell explained.

"Because the game allows players to seamlessly travel to or send resources to other planets, this creates a wide variety of emergent gameplay scenarios, such as when one player is running low on resources and must rely on [his or her] distant teammate to organize a resupply." he continued.

Meanwhile, Hello Games has yet to confirm if they will be including a better multiplayer system in "No Man's Sky," just like they have advertised pre-launch.

System Era has not specified when the "Astroneer" Early Access will begin, although the target date is on or before Dec. 20 before fall officially ends.