Borderlands 3’s creative director, Paul Sage, says co-op fans have been “radically underserved for years, ” giving his new studio’s first project plenty of opportunity to appeal.
Sage’s new studio, Ruckus Games, revealed just last week that it was working on a multiplayer shooter promising “a large roster of playable characters and thousands of unique make-shift weapon combinations.” The developer – featuring talent from Gearbox, Riot Games, Blizzard, and more – has also just raised $19m in funding to help the team make it.
While making a co-op hot off the heels of Helldivers 2’s success and the upcoming Borderlands 4 is a challenge, Sage reckons it’s worth the bet to serve fans who are still “radically underserved.”
“The good news is that we’ve sold it to the parts of the industry we need to sell it to to get it developed,” he says, before adding “I actually think co-op has been underserved for years. Like radically underserved for years.
Number one, we have to create a great game. If we don’t create a great game, nobody’s going to want to come to that game. I think that co-op itself has been growing year after year. If you just look at it, it really has. I’ve mentioned Helldivers 2, and I think it shows people are hungry for this co-op experience, especially with the internet right now.”
Sage goes on to say he’s a big fan of making sure you can actually experience something. “Before you put your toe in the water to do co-op, can you play solo? So I hope the answer is yes,” he says.
“I think the best thing to think about is, ‘Is this going to be something that feels fresh to people?’ And if you and I just sit here and pass back and forth feature after feature after feature, that’s not going to feel fresh.
Promising, though we may have to wait a while to see what Sage and company is cooking. Ruckus Games has yet to announce a reveal window, though you can head to its website to sign up for updates and playtest invitations. Hopefully, we’ll hear and see more soon.