The Ascent was announced on, along with a reveal trailer on the same day. The soundtrack also features original music from numerous licensed artists, such as Maximum Love. The original soundtrack has a runtime of just under two hours (114 minutes) and consists of 30 tracks. The Witcher and Dying Light composer Paweł Błaszczak wrote the score for The Ascent. The team at one point considered previewing more of their game than they planned, just to prove that they weren't copying CDProjekt. The release of Cyberpunk 2077 around the same time proved somewhat frustrating for the team as the two game's world feature several similarities although Neon Giant was unaware of these until late into development. The game's inspiration came from 2000 AD comics as well as the Robocop series. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4. Creative director Tor Frick said that they (Microsoft) were 'immediately very excited' about what they had made in its early development stage. In around May 2019, Neon Giant had struck a deal with Microsoft. For which they received between $5,000 and $50,000 to help progress the project. On 28 June 2018, it was announced that Epic Games had awarded Neon Giant one of 37 developers grants based on their work on an unannounced title set in a 'brand new cyberpunk world'. The Ascent is developed by Neon Giant, a team of 12 people. The player's role is to stop other factions from seizing control and uncover the mystery behind the demise of The Ascent Group. After the mysterious collapse of The Ascent Group, the arcology descends into a chaotic free-for-all pitting districts, syndicates and rival corporations against each other for control. Players assume control of a worker enslaved by the company. The game takes place within an arcology in a futuristic dystopian world known as Veles, controlled by a powerful megacorporation called 'The Ascent Group'.

The gameplay modes include single-player, local co-op and online co-op with a maximum of 4 players.

Items can also be obtained by completing missions, exploring the world or purchasing them from vendors with in-game currency. Defeating enemies allows the player to collect loot of various rarities. It is an open-world game that IGN described as having 'essentially no loading screens'. A fast travel system is implemented in the game via a built-in subway system and paid taxi, allowing the player to travel vast distances in-game quickly.

The game features a destructible environment that reacts to the player's actions, such as bullet impacts, skill powers and explosions. Players also have an upgradeable cyberdeck device, which they can use to gain access or 'hack' into previously locked areas and loot certain chests.

The player can fully customize their character's appearance, and can augment their character with cyberware upgrades to get new skills and abilities. This mechanic is key to the game's cover system, allowing the player to aim at enemies over the top of the props in the environment. It includes the ability to aim both high and low on enemy targets, allowing the player to differentiate between shooting enemies closer or further away. The Ascent is presented from an isometric view overlooking the character(s).

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