Show HN: Botnet of Ares – Hacking Simulator Open Playtest

Botnet of Ares is an incremental hacking roguelite set in a cyberpunk world where everything is connected. Unlock upgrades, expand your botnet, optimize your network & exploit millions of devices.

Inspired by games like Uplink and Hacknet, Botnet of Ares moves away from faux terminals and one-machine-at-a-time hacking. Instead, you manage and expand an evolving network of infected devices, balancing exponential growth with real-time threats.

The gameplay is active incremental & run-based. Your botnet gets bigger and bigger as you progress through the game, reaching tens of thousands of devices within an hour of gameplay. You might be managing exponential growth one moment, then scrambling to defeat countermeasures before your whole run collapses.

The game is still early in development, and I'm actively shaping it based on player feedback. So far, testers have been very positive - several have spent 5+ hours across multiple runs

Join the Steam playtest:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3627290/Botnet_of_Ares/

Scroll to 'Botnet of Ares Playtest' below the screenshots and click Request Access. I'm granting new testers access daily.