100,000 gold — ✈15 ships, 15 abilities
A hitscan laser, chain lightning, tentacle whips, a bouncing pinball, a sandstorm, a flamethrower. Every ship has a max-level perk that changes how it plays entirely.
An idle survivors game
with a rhythm twist
Ships, upgrades, style, music, idle.
100 waves per run15 ships20 boss fights4 players in co-op
The Galactic War, right now
Three planets, one front line shared by every player. Each enemy you kill pushes your planet’s liberation bar and the enemy pushes back every second, so a planet nobody is playing slides backwards. Liberate one and everybody who fought for it is paid 100,000 gold — how the war works.
What is PewBeat?
PewBeat is a survivors-like where the survival part is automated. Enemies spawn in waves and crawl, orbit or dive at you; your ship auto-targets and auto-fires, so there is nothing to dodge. The decisions are all economic: which of 15 class abilities to fly, what to spend kill gold on, and which stacking buff to gamble on when the vote comes round.
A run is 100 waves with a boss every fifth, ending in a different finale fight on each of the three planets. It runs in a browser, on Windows and Linux, and on Android — with no account, no sign-in and no ads.
All fifteen classes — what each one does.
What makes a run interesting
Six systems stack on top of the auto-firing core.
⚖Roguelite band buffs
Every five waves you vote on one of three buffs — including a hidden one. Each bundles two stats with random signs, so a “buff” can help you, cost you, or both. They stack all run.
♪A rhythm mini-game
From wave 5, collecting on the beat builds a combo that pays out gold. Hit a milestone and it drops a prize; miss one beat and the whole streak is gone.
♔A boss every fifth wave
Twenty of them, each with its own trick — a word puzzle, orbiting homing stingers, a diving eagle you have to keep interrupting — and a different finale on each planet.
⚇Four-player co-op
Online, or over Bluetooth with no internet at all. Gold is credited to everyone in full, buffs are shared, and one player going down does not end the run.
✲Your own music
Point the game at a folder of MP3s and it works out each song’s tempo, then re-times the whole rhythm layer to it — and streams the playlist to everyone in co-op.
How it plays
- Pick a planet and a ship. Your ship’s class ability is the run’s identity — everything else is shared upgrades.
- Survive while you shop. The upgrade menu opens mid-fight and the game keeps running. Gold from kills goes straight into permanent levels.
- Tap on the beat. Pickups pulse in time with the music. Collect them on the beat and the combo pays out in gold balls.
- Reach wave 100. Beat the finale boss for your planet and you unlock its ship — permanently, for every player in the run.
Everything documented
The PewBeat Wiki covers every number in the game — pulled from the shipped build, not guessed at.
Where to play
| Platform | How |
|---|---|
| Browser | Play instantly on itch.io — nothing to install. |
| Windows & Linux | Download from itch.io. Desktop is also the only place you can host your own music folder. |
| Android | In closed testing. Adds Bluetooth co-op for playing with someone nearby, offline. |
Frequently asked questions
Is PewBeat free to play?
Yes. PewBeat is free on itch.io and playable straight in your browser, with Windows and Linux downloads as well. There is one optional in-app purchase of in-game gold on Android; nothing in the game is locked behind it.
What kind of game is it?
An idle survivors game with a rhythm layer. Your ship is fixed in the centre of the arena and fires automatically, so instead of dodging you are managing upgrades, choosing roguelite buffs and tapping pickups in time with the music.
Do I need an internet connection?
No. Single-player works entirely offline. An internet connection only adds cloud backup, online co-op, the shared Galactic War and the community boards.
Does PewBeat have ads or tracking?
No. There are no ad networks, no analytics or crash SDKs, and the game does not read your advertising ID. There is also no account or sign-in.
Can I play with friends?
Yes — up to four players. Online co-op connects players directly over the internet, and on Android there is a Bluetooth mode for playing with someone in the same room with no internet at all. Gold and buffs are shared across the whole party.
How long is a full run?
A run is 100 waves, with a boss every fifth wave and a different finale boss on each of the three planets. Every run starts at wave 1.