A new indie game inspired by the Mega Man Battle Network series is set to launch next month on Steam.
BerserkBoy Games' Berserk B.I.T.S is being described as an "an idle-rpg, auto-battler, chip-collecting game" and is a spin-off to the 2024 title Berserk Boy.
It is designed to be played alongside your other applications, and has players taking on the role of a net detective, training and levelling up a digital partner called a B.I.T (Battle.Intelligent.Teammate) to battle internet viruses and "keep peace" in a chaotic cyber world.
Speaking with the BerserkBoy Games' lead developer Zu Ehtisham earlier this week about his origins of the project, he told Time Extension, "I had a bit of downtime after launching Berserk Boy, and noticed a bunch of idle games popping up. I’ve always liked the idea of them, but never really played one for longer than a day. At that moment of time I was going through another phase of being hyperfixated on P.E.T.S and Digi-vices… so I think the two just fused together in my head."
"I absolutely loved Mega Man Battle Network — that and Zero are my favourite from the Mega Man series by far. But I’ve always loved the feeling of having a digital pal battle for you, and you help them by offering support with battle chips and what not. I essentially just wanted to try mimick the feeling of people who own Navis in Mega Man Battle Network… Kind of like - 'Hey I have my own B.I.T, I’m going train them up and battle, I can also just let them chill in their own space, or I can hunt for Battle Chips to make them stronger.' So it’s kind of like you’re the main character!"
As Ehtisham mentioned, the gameplay in this new title is divided between completing missions, obtaining battle chips, unlocking moves, and decorating your "Home Net" (a modifiable space onscreen). Right now, they're 101 battle chips to unlock — many of which are named after food — with the developer stating that there are more to be added in the future.
According to Ehtisham, it's also possible for players to import their own sprite sheets to create their own Battle B.I.T, with the developer encouraging people to hack their original characters, if they so wish.
The game will launch on November 20th, 2025, with a demo available now as part of Steam Next Fest. As Ehtisham states there's also a competition now running, where if you get to level 25 during Next Fest and join the team's Discord, you could win a Custom B.I.T made by the team.
Here's the latest trailer: