Nuclear Option

Nuclear Option

Early access since Oct 2023

Fly near-future aircraft with immersive physics across dynamic battlefields, facing land, air, and sea threats. Wage war against AI or rival pilots using an array of advanced weaponry, including tactical and strategic nuclear weapons capable of annihilating anything in your path.

95% positive · 11K reviews
Not yet
In early access, still in active development
High confidence
Active Development
Not yet
In early access, still in active development
High confidence
Active Development

Where to buy

Steam $19.99
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Evaluation

Nuclear Option has been in Steam Early Access since October 15, 2023 and continues to receive substantial, regular updates from Shockfront Studios. The developer has shipped ten named major content updates since launch — roughly one every 2–4 months — each bringing new flyable aircraft, ships, ground vehicles, weapons, and gameplay systems. The most recent major update, 0.34 (July 27, 2026), added the new VT-7 Vagrant aircraft, a patrol boat, artillery units, ammo management systems, and a wide range of improvements. This was followed just two weeks later by a bug fix patch on August 12, 2026, confirming the team remains actively engaged. The game is still versioned in the 0.3x range with no developer statement indicating a 1.0 release is imminent or that content development is winding down. The only paid DLC is a soundtrack pack released in August 2024 — not a content expansion. The development cadence here is very consistent and well-documented across nearly three years of updates.
Evidence
Update 0.34 shipped with a new flyable aircraft (VT-7 Vagrant), a new patrol boat, artillery units, ammo management systems, AI improvements, and extensive gameplay, UI, audio, and balance changes.
news post · Jul 27, 2026 source content shipped
high
Update 0.33 shipped with a new aircraft (Alkyon AB-4), two new ship classes, new weapons and emplacements, new foliage system, and many other additions.
news post · Apr 14, 2026 source content shipped
high

Content

1 of 1 released · no outstanding content

Media

Details

Publisher
Shockfront Studios
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
partial support
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player · Multiplayer · Co-op · PvP

About this game

Nuclear Option is a combat flight game set on a dynamic and realistic battlefield of the near future. Use an array of advanced weapons to change the course of battles as you intercept bombers, duel fighters, fly under the radar, or unleash the fury of nuclear weapons on enemy formations.

Each aircraft comes with an immersive cockpit featuring a situational awareness HUD, identifying nearby targets and threats. Aircraft can be flown with various controllers or with a mouse-controlled "virtual joystick", requiring no special hardware.

Experience realistic flight dynamics, with stalls, spins and g-force effects fully implemented, as each aircraft is composed of up to 50 individually simulated physics parts . A highly detailed damage model means that the condition of each part affects the way your aircraft flies.

Build your own missions using the included mission editor, and then fly your mission solo or with friends in PVP or PVE multiplayer combat.

CI-22 "Cricket" counter-insurgency aircraft

T/A-30 "Compass" light attack/trainer aircraft

VT-7 "Vagrant" VTOL trainer

UH-90 "Ibis" utility helicopter

A-19 "Brawler" close air support aircraft

SAH-46 "Chicane" stealth attack helicopter

FS-12 "Revoker" air superiority fighter

FS-20 "Vortex" VTOL fighter

VL-49 "Tarantula" Heavy vertical lift VTOL

KR-67 "Ifrit" multirole fighter

EW-25 "Medusa" electronic warfare aircraft

SFB-81 "Darkreach" strategic bomber

"Alkyon" AB-4 strike bomber 

  • Thirteen playable aircraft, each with scenarios highlighting their capabilities

  • Realistic flight physics, simulated across dozens of aerodynamic surfaces per aircraft

  • Detailed damage model with 30-50 detachable parts per aircraft

  • Player hosted multiplayer with a public lobby browser, supporting cooperative or competitive play

  • Various AI controlled ground vehicles and AI aircraft engaging in large, dynamic battles

  • Persistent battlefields with lingering wreckage and smoke

  • Targeting HUD and Target view screen in cockpits

  • Flight HUD with detailed aircraft parameters including angle of attack, velocity vector, climb rate, G force and radar altitude

  • Many guided and unguided weapons, including guns, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, bombs, cruise and ballistic missiles

  • Accurately simulated blast effects for explosions

  • Accurately simulated nuclear weapons with shockwave propagation

  • A 100km-wide map including various biomes and terrain types

  • A new, larger naval-themed map situated in an archipelago of occupied islands

  • Custom Mission Editor

  • Night missions with night-vision cockpit functionality

  • Countermeasures including IR flares and radar jammer

Last evaluated Aug 14, 2026
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