This veteran RPG wants to introduce you to a vast and ungraspable world

Wyrdsong, a promising open-world RPG set in a distorted medieval Portugal, is facing serious difficulties in its development. Created by a team of veterans who worked on iconic titles like Skyrim, Fallout, and The Outer Worlds, the game was showcased at the Gamescom Opening Night Live three years ago. The intention was to provide players with a rich experience, exploring the mythological roots of the Knights Templar in a vibrant 12th-century landscape.

A game that aims to create a sense of great scale

The studio Something Wicked Games received an initial investment of 13.2 million dollars from NetEase, a figure that, although it sounds considerable, has proven insufficient to create a large-scale RPG. As development progressed, the studio faced massive layoffs, which significantly limited its operational capacity and affected the initial ambition of the project.

Aware of the need to adapt to the new market reality, the developers created a second prototype that moves away from the open world towards a zone-based RPG, adding rogue-lite elements. However, despite these efforts, the search for additional funding has been unsuccessful. The current situation of the studio has left a small team working hard to keep the project going.

The post-pandemic landscape has generated uncertainty in the video game industry, with increasing competition and changes in player behavior, who are becoming more selective and expect discounts before acquiring new titles. Companies are struggling for funding in an environment that many consider unstable. Jeff Gardiner, co-founder of Something Wicked, expresses his concern about the situation, highlighting that they have seen key talents leave for other opportunities, which adds pressure to the development of Wyrdsong.

As players continue to immerse themselves in timeless titles like Skyrim, innovation in new projects may be compromised, raising an uncertain future for developments like Wyrdsong.

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Wyrdsong is an open-world role-playing game (RPG) set in a dark fantasy world with a historical context. The player will take on the role of a fully customizable protagonist in a fictional version of Portugal during the Middle Ages.