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NODE: PROTOCOL
A full immersive hacking sim based on real exploits and C2 tools. Choose missions or pure free-roam. The world adapts to your every move and strikes back. Accept contracts. Hack servers. Earn BTC. Upgrade your gear and avoid getting traced. Play solo or in Co-op / CTF with your friends.

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Features
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔ ✔ ✔

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“NODE: PROTOCOL is a complex simulation of adversarial infrastructure. While the core hacking mechanics and C2 systems are feature-complete, a game this technical requires real-world 'stress testing.' We want to work directly with the community to balance the BTC economy, refine the co-op and CTF techniques, and ensure the terminal interface feels perfect on both Desktop and Steam Deck before our 1.0 launch.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We plan to remain in Early Access for approximately 3 to 6 months. This window allows us enough time to iterate on player feedback, expand the mission library, and polish the multiplayer net code based on real-world network conditions.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The full version will include latteral movement over 65 real world exploits and a full suite of kernel exploits. We plan to expand this in the feature with more missions that are using all the tools and exploits available. ”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current build is a fully playable 'Vertical Slice.' You can manage a coop team, execute phishing campaigns, and pivot through multi-node networks in both solo and co-op modes. The core loop—breach, exfiltrate, wash BTC, and upgrade—is fully functional.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes. We want to reward our early 'contractors.' The game will be available at a lower price point during Early Access as a thank you for helping us build the infrastructure. The price will increase upon the 1.0 release to reflect the added content and polish.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Community feedback is the backbone of our development. We run a highly active Discord server where players can interact directly with the development team. We use dedicated feedback forums for bug reporting and feature requests, ensuring that player suggestions directly influence our 'Ops Briefings' (patch notes).

Furthermore, we frequently host community polls to decide which new tools and exploits are added to the DarkMarket next, and our internal program gives dedicated testers a front-row seat to the balancing of our C2 infrastructure and co-op mechanics.”
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This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: To be announced

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About This Game

NODE: PROTOCOL - A full immersive hacking sim based on real exploits and C2 tools. Choose missions or pure free-roam. The world adapts to your every move, and strikes back 

Key gameplay: 

  • Realistic terminal hacking pipeline; research. 95+ commands. More then 70+ authentic exploits including rootkits. 

  • Physics-Driven Hardware - Real-time thermal simulation, power draw, GPU load, noise, and throttling. Overheat mid-hack and your rig literally slows down.

  • Living Trace & Heat System - Every action leaves dual-track logs (network + filesystem). Heat builds, trace speed, LTE burner failover, VPN phone-home risk, and full Fed Raid consequences that strip progress but never end the game.

  • Volatile Economy & Crypto - Real BTC price swings, tainted wallets, multi-tier tumbling, blockchain forensics missions, and on-the-fly mining on compromised servers.

  • 250 Domains,  2,250+ Persistent targets, containing over 2,000 LAN nodes. Every server is real. High variety of OS layers, including vlans and security devices.

Advanced systems: 

  • SIGINT & Phone Warfare - Signal Decoupler app: IMSI catching, SS7 exploits, Pegasus zero-click iPhone chains, MFA interception, evil_twin and live waterfall spectrogram.

  • Cobalt Strike C2 + Postal Delivery - Deploy beacons, run phishing campaigns, and physically deliver BadUSB/Rubber Ducky payloads via courier with customs risk and tracking logs.

  • 5 Ruthless Rival Hackers, reach high trust and they start harassing you - eliminate them permanently or get hunted.

  • Dynamic Botnet & DDoS - Infect servers with bots or automate this with worms, launch city-wide attacks, and manage CSI detection index.

Multiplayer & Social Layer

  • Full Co-op Crew Mode (up to 4 players) — Shared exploits, proxy chains, crew operations (root entire LANs together), real-time MeshLink chat + voice, host-authoritative sync, and crew leaderboards.

  • CTF, e-sports (Wargames) with up to two teams competing for the same target network. Can be played 2vs2, 3vs3, 4vs4. With leaderboards. 3 different matches, Sprint, Standard and Endurance. 

  • Property Empire — Own 15 safehouses with unique bonuses, trace reduction, hash rate boost, EMP shield, raid protection. 

Mission & World Design

Targets real persistent infrastructure with massive variety in outcomes. Missions include;

  • 19 Mission Types, that are repayable with variety in targets and outcome. Hack banks, government agency's, internet providers or shady underground forums.  

  • Every mission triggers real world chaos, rivals react, corporations seek revenge, news spreads, and the entire game adapts. Play both sides of the conflict and watch how it ends. 

Every mission hits real infrastructure.

Every failure leaves a trace.

Every success makes you the most wanted Neural Operator alive.

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“Uplink was the beginning. This is the endgame.”

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

The game has AI rendered pictures for the NPC characters.

System Requirements

Windows
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • OS *: Windows 7+
    • Processor: i5 +
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Graphics: -- NO GPU REQUIRED --
    • DirectX: Version 9.0
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.
    Minimum:
    • OS: Ubuntu 13.4 LTS
    • Processor: 2.0 GHZ
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
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