Gears Tactics and Dirty Bomb devs working on a new sci-fi game
Splash Damage are making "an original sci-fi universe"
Splash Damage, the folks who made Gears Tactics and Brink, have announced they're working on a new sci-fi game. They've worked on a number of series created by other developers over the years, including Wolfenstein and Gears, but haven't made their own PC game since Dirty Bomb in 2014. It'll be interesting to see what they have in store - perhaps a first-person shooter like Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory? Or maybe something more strategic, given Gears Tactics' success.
In a blog post, Splash Damage say their current project is set in "an original sci-fi universe", though they don't give much info beyond that. They're currently hiring for a bunch of roles, the descriptions for which say they're transitioning their devs to work on Unreal Engine 5.
This comes almost a year after Tencent bought Splash Damage (and Digital Extremes). At the time, Splash Damage said the acquisition would allow them "to operate as an independent entity within the Tencent family, while we get to leverage their expertise to allow us to build even greater games as we move into our third decade".
The developer's previous games include Brink, a dystopian FPS about a floating city on the brink of civil war, and Dirty Bomb, a team-based hero shooter set on the exploded streets of London. A lot of their work has been on other devs' games though, helping with the multiplayer parts of Gears 5 and Doom 3, as well as developing the Return To Castle Wolfenstein-based FPS, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.
They also made a cutesy game called Outsiders for Google Stadia last year that looks… exactly like the sort of game I expected a Stadia exclusive to look like. Hopefully their new sci-fi thing doesn't look like that.
It's unclear right now exactly what sort of game Splash Damage are making, but my money is on FPS or strategy. Nate's Gears Tactics review is absolutely glowing with praise, so we know they can pull off a decent tactical affair.
"Gears Tactics has redefined just how much fun can be had with that simple recipe for squad-based xenocide," he wrote. "It's the first game in ages that gave me the urge to start a second playthrough in the same session as my first completion."