Interface Zero 3.0

Interface Zero 3.0 is best for groups that want cyberpunk as a broad campaign toolkit rather than a single-city default: classless operators, augment-heavy builds, revised hacking, corporate and geopolitical pressure, and enough GM-facing scaffolding to keep a 2095 campaign moving. It is a weaker fit for tables that want a light first cyberpunk TTRPG, a frictionless one-shot, or a setting where the rules mostly stay invisible after character creation.

If your group already likes Savage Worlds Adventure Edition pace and wants more cyberware, biotech, drones, social pressure, and city-building support than many mission-first cyberpunk games offer, Interface Zero has a lot to work with. The tradeoff is curation: you get a wide toolbox, but the GM and players should decide early which subsystems, tech assumptions, and campaign themes matter for this table.

What the game is

Interface Zero 3.0 is David Jarvis and Gun Metal Games' third Interface Zero edition, rebuilt for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition and set in the year 2095. Its version of cyberpunk is not just street mercs and chrome; it also leans into climate damage, state consolidation, corporate enclaves, war, identity technology, genetic engineering, and the Tendril Access Processor, or TAP, that pushes the Global DataNet and Hyper Reality straight into everyday life.

The game's default identity is flexible cyberpunk campaign play. It can handle street crews, corporate work, political heat, noir investigations, tactical raids, and tech-heavy survival because the line is written more like a setting toolkit than a tightly bounded starter box.

Publication history and editions

The current line is the third edition of Interface Zero and the one written for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. The Players Guide to 2095 was delivered to backers in late 2019, with the wider product line later adding the Game Master's Guide to 2095, a Jumpstart, and the introductory adventure Auction Action!.

That matters because older Interface Zero material exists, but 3.0 is the SWADE-era line the current site entry should be pointing people toward.

What you need to play

To actually run the game, you need Savage Worlds Adventure Edition plus the Players Guide to 2095. The free or pay-what-you-want Jumpstart is the best low-risk way to test the tone, key options, and basic structure before asking the group to absorb the full line.

For a real campaign, the Game Master's Guide to 2095 is where the line becomes much more useful. Official support also reaches into digital play through Savaged.us support announced in 2021 and Fantasy Grounds modules for both the player and GM books.

Major supplements and starting material

The practical starter stack is straightforward: try the Jumpstart, move to the Players Guide, then add the GM's Guide if the campaign is sticking. Auction Action! is the clearest official on-ramp for a short scenario, and the GM's Guide expands the line with city-building material, campaign toolkits, plot point campaigns, savage tales, threats, and TAP-plague support.

That product path tells you what kind of game this is: not a single-volume minimalist cyberpunk rules pamphlet, but a line that expects the table to grow from a test run into a more customized campaign.

Digital tools and VTT support

Interface Zero 3.0 has more digital support than many mid-tier cyberpunk lines. Savaged.us added Interface Zero 3.0 support for its character and Savage Worlds tools, and Fantasy Grounds has official modules for the Players Guide and GM's Guide. That makes it easier to run online than many niche settings that never move past PDF support.

Core rules and play structure

Because Interface Zero 3.0 is built on Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, its moment-to-moment play uses a fast skill-based chassis: action-card initiative, exploding dice, raises, Bennies, and short turns that can still carry tactical weight. Characters are not class-locked. Instead, the game builds identity through attributes, skills, origins, edges, hindrances, campaign themes, species choices, and technology packages.

In practice, the table loop mixes mission scenes, investigations, firefights, legwork, travel, social leverage, hacking, and consequences from tech or faction choices. The system is readable at the roll level, but the total option load is medium-to-heavy because augmentations, gear, drones, and cyberpunk-specific subsystems create real overhead if the group tries to use everything at once.

Characters, roles, and advancement

The line gives players a strong amount of character authorship. The Players Guide foregrounds origins and campaign themes, then layers on edges, hindrances, races, specialized gear, cybernetics, biotech, chemtech, genetech, and nanotech. The result is a classless operator game where a face, infiltrator, hacker, combatant, driver, investigator, or hybrid build can all feel mechanically distinct without forcing everyone through the same career track.

That flexibility is one of the game's biggest strengths, but it also means character creation can run long if the table has not agreed on campaign tone and permitted options before session zero.

Signature mechanics

Three things stand out. First, Interface Zero puts real attention on hacking instead of treating it as a single vague skill roll. Second, augmentations matter: cybertech, biotech, genetech, chemtech, and nanotech are not flavor frosting but part of how characters differentiate themselves. Third, the setting treats TAP, surveillance, malware, and identity systems as recurring pressure, not just dressing.

The GM's Guide extends that identity by turning cities, corporations, gangs, weather, plot point campaigns, threats, and the Tendril Access Plague into usable scenario material. That is why the game reads more like a campaign toolkit than a mission-of-the-week pamphlet.

What play feels like

At the table, Interface Zero tends to feel busy in a deliberate way. A job can involve negotiation, stealth, live data pressure, drones, sudden violence, and fallout from who saw what on the network. The system supports that mix well if the group wants cyberpunk to feel interconnected rather than cleanly split into combat scenes and story scenes.

What it does not feel like is a stripped-down neon thriller. Compared with narrower cyberpunk games, Interface Zero gives up some immediacy in exchange for breadth, build space, and campaign scaffolding.

Running the game

GM load is reasonable only if the GM curates. The line gives you many dials, but the best version of Interface Zero is usually the version where the group agrees up front which tech modules, hacking depth, social pressure, and campaign theme are in focus. The Jumpstart and Auction Action! are useful precisely because they keep that first pass narrower.

If you try to treat the whole line as mandatory from session one, prep burden rises quickly. If you treat it as a toolkit and choose the pieces your campaign will actually use, it becomes much easier to manage.

Campaign fit

Interface Zero 3.0 is strongest in campaigns, not one-shots. Long arcs let city politics, recurring contacts, cyberware choices, debt, reputation, campaign themes, and corporate escalation accumulate real consequence. A one-shot can work, but it often showcases only the surface chrome and not the reasons this line exists.

It is especially good for groups that want cyberpunk missions to expand into faction pressure and civic texture over time rather than staying locked to a single tactical lane.

Reception and awards

The clearest reception pattern in the source set is admiration for scope plus caution about density. In an early review from Hours Without Sleep, the reviewer liked the campaign themes, origins, race limits, gear ideas, Street Cred, drones, and the setting's toolbox feel, while still wishing some parts were clearer or more condensed. That lines up with the general reader signal the page has long been summarizing: people who want a big SWADE cyberpunk toolkit often find a lot to like here, while people wanting a smoother first read can bounce off the presentation.

I did not find a major award record for the 3.0 line in the reviewed source set. The stronger public signal is table-fit and review sentiment rather than trophies.

Where it is strongest

• Excellent for groups that want SWADE cyberpunk with more setting breadth and campaign support than a single-city core book.
• Classless, option-rich operator builds make cyberware, biotech, gear, and role specialization feel meaningful.
• The line gives GMs real support for cities, factions, plot point campaigns, threats, and online play tools.

Where it can frustrate groups

• The option load is high enough that session-zero curation is not optional.
• It is not the cleanest first cyberpunk TTRPG for beginners or low-prep one-shots.
• Some groups will prefer a narrower game with a more immediately legible default campaign loop.

Content and safety notes

Expect corporate exploitation, surveillance, authoritarian politics, poverty pressure, body modification, hacking and identity abuse, war fallout, biohorror elements, addiction-adjacent tech or chemical material, and the usual cyberpunk mix of social coercion and lethal violence. Tone can vary by campaign theme, but the setting is built from systemic pressure rather than optimistic futurism.

Best starting path

Start with the Jumpstart if you want to check tone and subsystem tolerance before buying in. If the table likes the mix, move to the Players Guide to 2095, then add the Game Master's Guide to 2095 once the campaign needs city tools, plot point material, and deeper GM support. Use Auction Action! for an early official scenario, and lean on Savaged.us or Fantasy Grounds if your group is playing online.

Research notes

Last checked: July 4, 2026.

• Interface Zero 3.0 Players Guide to 2095
• Interface Zero 3.0: The Game Master's Guide to 2095
• Interface Zero 3.0 Jumpstart
• Auction Action! An adventure for Interface Zero 3.0
• Pinnacle licensee spotlight for Interface Zero 3.0
• BackerKit project updates
• Interface Zero 3.0 has hacked Savaged.us
• Fantasy Grounds - Interface Zero 3.0 Players Guide to 2095
• Fantasy Grounds - Interface Zero 3.0: The Game Master's Guide to 2095
• Impressions From Interface Zero 3.0 Players Guide

Compare this game

Compare Interface Zero 3.0's broad setting toolkit with six cyberpunk games that offer more specific campaign loops or familiar rules engines. Seven cyberpunk TTRPGs compared.