The game's support for mods was cited as a major factor for its longevity. Mixed opinions were raised regarding the campaign progression and story and some control elements were criticised. Critics praised the game's physics, interactivity, graphics implementation, art style, and music. Teardown saw positive reactions leading up to and during its early access phase, and it received favourable reviews upon release. The completed game was released in April 2022. The game was announced in October 2019 and made available as an early access game in October 2020 with one half of the campaign, the other being added in December 2021. Gustafsson regularly shared development updates via Twitter and the resulting popularity led him to not pursue traditional marketing for Teardown. Gustafsson conceived the two-phase heist concept, which he and Bengtsson refined.
He initially implemented destructible voxels with ray tracing and teamed up with former Mediocre designer Emil Bengtsson to find amicable gameplay concepts that used this technology. He began developing the technology after winding down his previous company, Mediocre, in 2017. Teardown uses a proprietary game engine developed by Dennis Gustafsson. A timer starts as soon as the security alarm is triggered, and the player must complete all required objectives and reach a getaway vehicle within sixty seconds.
The player has unlimited time to prepare and is given upgradable tools, vehicles, and explosives to create a path within the level that allows them to complete the objectives as quickly as possible. In most missions, the player must collect or destroy objects connected to a security alarm. Teardown features levels made of destructible voxels, and the player follows the campaign through subsequent missions.
The game revolves around the owner of a financially stricken demolition company, who is caught executing a questionable job and becomes entangled between helping police investigations and taking on further dubious assignments. Teardown is a 2022 sandbox, puzzle and action game developed and published by Tuxedo Labs.