Playdead is a developer not known to rush things. Limbo was released in 2010, while Inside followed in 2016. Five years on, we’re still only receiving the briefest of teases for their next title. As revealed by @MauroNL3 on Twitter, recent job listings at the developer have revealed their next title to be “a 3rd person, open world, science fiction adventure.”
The game was first revealed back in 2018. Back then, we knew it would be a third person title that was “more open” than their previous 2D platformers. Later concept art and brief videos hinted at a science fiction setting with an astronaut and a moon rover stood in a seemingly barren landscape. We’ve heard nothing in the two years following that Tweet, and the game still hasn’t been formally revealed by Playdead. Only now are we finding out the game will be an open world adventure thanks to this job listing, and we’ve got new concept art to boot.
The long periods of time between Playdead’s titles will be mostly down to the developer’s refusal to take part in the controversial practice of crunch, most recently entering the spotlight thanks to CD Projekt Red’s rushed and chaotic development of Cyberpunk 2077. Another job listing for Playdead described the company as “a team of 50 creative professionals. Our approach to development does not include crunching towards arbitrary deadlines – instead, we look for people who enjoy managing their own schedule and thrive on working within a friendly collaborative environment.”
The unannounced title will be developed using the Unreal engine and will be released on multiple platforms. Unsurprisingly, following a deal with Epic Games, the gaming giant will be on publishing duties. The deal allows Playdead to focus on the development of a new world while maintaining their independence and creative freedom. Meanwhile, Epic will provide project funding and services, meaning the developer doesn’t have to worry about the costs of things like developer salaries, production, QA, and marketing.
[Source: MauroNL on Twitter]
