Important takeaways
- Playing Deep Rock Galactic inspired one fan to become an explosive miner.
- Three years later, he credits this choice with helping him completely turn his life around.
- Becoming an actual miner also gave the player a deeper understanding of Deep Rock Galactic's inspirations.
A Deep Rock Galactic fan has recently shared an incredible story about how the game has inspired him to pursue a mining career. Years later, the player still looks back fondly on this decision, credits Deep Rock Galactic for helping him completely change his life.
Developed by Denmark-based Ghost Ship Games, Deep Rock Galactic is a co-op shooter for up to four players. Since its release in 2020, the game has achieved massive success, with PlayTracker and Gamalytic estimating its lifetime sales on Steam alone to be at seven million units by the end of 2024.

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Among the millions who bought Deep Rock Galactic over the years, Reddit user Bulk-Detonator, also known as Mat. His experience of the game is as unusual as they come, not least because Deep Rock Galactic inspired him to become a real miner. This happened around 2021, when Mat says he was at a low point in his life, stuck in a “dead-end job” and suffering from low self-esteem. That's when he discovered Deep Rock Galacticwhich served as a kind of escape. Months later, he came across a job posting for training in rock drilling and explosive mining, which made him think, “wouldn't it be fun to do the video game thing IRL,” as he recalled in a recent post on Reddit. This turned out to be a life-changing decision, helping him earn more, lose a lot of weight and be happier overall.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Mat revealed that his crew's daily responsibilities involve drilling dozens or even hundreds of holes in quarries, pumping them full of semi-liquid explosives, covering them with rock and detonating them when everyone is at a safe distance. The goal is to make gravel by breaking down rocks and thus provide material that is used for, among other things, asphalt, concrete or drainage. Mat is currently still a trainee driller, but hopes to be promoted to a full-fledged driller position in the near future. “I just came into this blind, and it ended up being not only a job that's been really good for me, but I'm incredibly passionate about it,” he said.
Real-Life Mining inspired a lot of Deep Rock Galactic
Mat's new career made him realize that the world of Deep Rock Galactic borrows much more from real mining than he originally thought. For example, the Glyphid Bulk Detonator monster was apparently named after bulk explosives used in mining. Similarly, spiders that are predominantly attracted to stone do exist in real life, although they are nowhere near as large as the monstrosities found in the hit co-op game Ghost Ships.
I just came into this blind, and it ended up being not only a job that has been very good for me, but I'm incredibly passionate about it.
As for his gaming habits, Mat still plays DRG whenever he can, estimating that he's already logged over 900 hours in the game. Even though he has played every class at this point, he is drawn towards Deep Rock Galactic's Driller – a choice that seems like a natural fit for his current profession, which he credits with completely changing his life.