Renowned arcade-style developer Housemarque has teased a new project, titled Stormdivers.
According to the Finnish studio, Stormdivers will be a "high flying and heavy hitting, mutiplayer-centric experience". Housemarque will be treating the game as an "ongoing service"; exactly what this means is unclear right now, other than the dev is hoping that this will mean "there are ways to get to play it earlier".
Housemarque, known for high-octane action arcade titles such as Super Stardust and Resogun, claims that Stormdivers marks the beginning of "the new era of Housemarque", and that the Finnish studio will move away from developing pure arcade experiences in future. Here's the teaser trailer for Stormdivers, released via Housemarque's official YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBiJRyVWoPo
"Teaser" really is the word for the trailer, as not a whole lot is revealed in terms of story or gameplay. The trailer depicts a lush wooded environment and some stone ruins, set against the backdrop of a lightning storm. The game's title logo appears, followed by a night scene in which what seems to be a partially invisible person shrouded in fire walks towards the camera. It's a pretty enigmatic setup, but this is just a teaser trailer, so expect more details to be announced in the coming weeks and months.
Here's what we do know. Back in November 2017, following disappointing sales of twin-stick shooter Nex Machina (a collaboration with arcade legend and Smash TV mastermind Eugene Jarvis), Housemarque CEO Ilari Kuittinen took to the official company website to address the situation. The post was entitled "Arcade Is Dead" and detailed Housemarque's decision to "bring [their] longstanding commitment to the arcade genre to an end". This was the first time the "new era" of Housemarque was mentioned, and it seems Stormdivers is the culmination of Housemarque's new philosophy.
We also know Housemarque is using Unreal Engine to develop the game (its second time with the kit, after sidescroller Matterfall), and has developed an "added layer of special effects candy" which they're terming the "Housemarque VFX Engine". If it helps Stormdivers to reach the same level of visual flair as games like Resogun and Nex Machina, then we'll be watching this one with great interest. No release window has been specified for the game yet, but it's early days.
Enjoyed Housemarque titles in the past? Excited for the "new era"? Do you agree that there's no appetite for arcade games anymore? Let us know in the comments below!
