Stormdivers

[drahkon]

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As a part of our recent transition away from our core genres, we’ve had a hard look at what really makes up an arcade game and how can we bring those elements to whole new heights. Fortunately a few greats have been able to show the way and bring gameplay centric experiences to wider audiences. We hope to expand that progress as we bring our explosive effects and second-to-second gameplay to new genres.

Our newest title will still remain in a slight shroud of mystery, but we can say that it will be a high flying and heavy hitting, multiplayer centric experience. It will be the first title that we treat as an on-going service, this also means that there are ways to get to play it earlier and we’d love to develop it further with a feedback loop in mind.

This will also be our second game made with the Unreal Engine (Matterfall was the first), and now we are also officially branding our added layer of special effects candy as the “Housemarque VFX Engine”. Basically meaning that we put an extra effort into creating custom technology solutions that take our upcoming titles to whole new visually shattering ends.

 

I'm not a huge fan of multiplayer only games and "on-going service"-type titles but it's Housemarque. I'm intrigued.

No platforms have been announced, yet, as far as I'm aware.

[drahkon]

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"You can compare it to a lot of the multiplayer experiences you have now," Haveri told me, which I remarked sounded like Housemarque was doing a Fortnite game - a battle royale game. "That's a very good assumption," he replied.

Eurogamer.net

[Hero-of-Time]

Gotta chase those industry fads while they are hot.

[Ronnie]

What a shame. 

[Julius]

I know that there’s plenty of room left for Battle Royale games - because it’s still a growing genre with plenty of mind share and is fairly barren when it comes to choice right now - but I can’t imagine how Housemarque are going to be able to work their way into this market. We already know/think that plenty of AAA games will be going this route (such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc.), and those publishers/developers will more than likely make their plans clear on the most public stage in gaming: at this year’s E3.

As far as I’m aware, they don’t have the funds or resources to compete in such a market at this point - let alone within the next five years. I’m a little worried that this is just one step closer to their doors shutting for good. 

[Hero-of-Time]

Yup, it's a Battle Royale game.

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Set in a near future dystopia, Stormdivers is a sci-fi themed 3rd person battle royale game, featuring chaotic battles and volatile explosions amidst a recurring nano-storm that swallows the beautiful and lush island surroundings. Following their “arcade is dead” announcement, the team is ready to take the battle royale genre by storm utilizing their strengths in creating engaging gameplay and cutting edge visual effects.

“With Stormdivers we are entering new grounds as a studio that for over 20 years has been known for creating arcade coin-op inspired games,” said Ilari Kuittinen, CEO of Housemarque. “We began its development when battle royale was still a niche gameplay mode, yet despite the number of BR games on the market now, Stormdivers will excite players with its fast-paced gameplay, metagame, classes and various events, all packaged with Housemarque’s trademark high-quality visual effects. Stormdivers is more than just another battle royale game, and we plan to roll out new content regularly in the future to continuously expand the experience. We invite everyone to check out the trailer to see what we have in store!”

Stormdivers, a rare breed of special operators, descend on an abandoned island where a dangerous nano-experiment-gone-wrong has created a permanent artificial storm system that devours everything in sight. Daring teams and solo operators who are brave enough to dive into the eye of the recurring nano storm are trying not only to survive the competition but also the island itself, with endless threats looming around every corner. Those who can master speed, surprise and take the high ground will reap the benefits of exotic loot. Developed in Unreal Engine and backed by Amazon GameLift, Steam, Stormdivers is planned to expand with other modes and content including PvE co-op missions, new playable areas, classes and more.

 

[drahkon]

This is going to crash and burn. Might be the beginning of the end for Housemarque...

[S.C.G]

I don't want to even watch that trailer, I can't bring myself to.

I feel bad for Housemarque... obviously I hope the game does well for the sake of the studio but at the same time I have zero interest in it.

[Hero-of-Time]

Housemarque put out a piece on their website that celebrates their 25th anniversary. This was an interesting bit of info that came out of it.

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So now we are focused on delivering our most ambitious and biggest game to date, putting every other project on hold, including the development of Stormdivers. It is great that the whole company can come together to deliver this game, which will define the next evolution of Housemarque. We are very humbled to have amazing support from our partner over the course of the past few years, and this support has continuously grown on a monthly basis. 

Happy to see this game has been shelved/put on hold as I think it would have been disastrous for the company. As for the partner they mentioned, I would be shocked if it wasn't Sony. They've had a great relationship for the past couple of console generations and I think Shu was seen visiting them last year. Could a Housemarque PS5 launch title be on the cards?

 

[S.C.G]

58 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Could a Housemarque PS5 launch title be on the cards?

Resogun 2 exclusive PS Plus launch title for PS5?

It worked for the PS4.

Either way, this sounds like excellent news so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I'm hoping they go for a game which has a simple arcade hook to it which is fun to play either solo or co-operatively with loads of fun things to unlock over time.

[Hero-of-Time]

24 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

I'm hoping they go for a game which has a simple arcade hook to it which is fun to play either solo or co-operatively with loads of fun things to unlock over time.

That was always their strength but sadly the sales of their games were getting worse and worse with each new game they released. I think a lot of their games would be a perfect fit for the Switch. It's a shame they've never put anything on it. Imagine if their partner turned out to be Nintendo? That would be a great get for them.

[drahkon]

Didn't they say their Arcade-games-era was?

I just want them to do another arcade twin stick shooter  

[Hero-of-Time]

3 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Didn't they say their Arcade-games-era was?

I just want them to do another arcade twin stick shooter  

Apparently this new game has been 3 years in the making. Here is the piece the wrote about their anniversary.

HERE

[Ronnie]

12 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I think a lot of their games would be a perfect fit for the Switch. It's a shame they've never put anything on it. Imagine if their partner turned out to be Nintendo? That would be a great get for them.

While we're wishing for things, I'll take Media Molecule partnering with Nintendo too please! Tearaway is still one of my favourite games, criminal how badly it sold.

[Hero-of-Time]

Just now, Ronnie said:

While we're wishing for things, I'll take Media Molecule partnering with Nintendo too please! Tearaway is still one of my favourite games, criminal how badly it sold.

I have to imagine that something like Tearaway would have sold much better on a Nintendo platform than it did on any of Sony's. Saying that, Ratchet and Clank is a cutesy platformer and they always do very well on PlayStaion platforms. Still, it would be interesting to see how Tearaway would sell if sold on the Switch.