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Housemarque Looks To Announce Something Real Soon

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Returnal

Returnal developer and PlayStation Studios studio Housemarque is teasing an announcement slated for tomorrow. We don’t know what this could be, but odds are it’s the studio’s next game or some sort of big change heading to the studio’s big hit.

The Finnish game dev’s announcement, which was teased on Twitter, will coincide with the game’s three-year anniversary on the PlayStation 5. It’s possible this is the studio’s way of teasing a sequel, but that sort of stuff — especially first-party PlayStation studios — is usually reserved for big events like a PlayStation Showcase or State of Play.

It’s assumed this is more to do with a documentary behind Returnal’s development, but as we know, even documentaries can hold a spotlight to the future of a studio.

If we had to go all speculation here, we’d say it could be some sort of enhanced or complete edition, a massive overhaul update, or perhaps some sort of DLC. That is if it isn’t some sort of sequel or spin-off news or a completely new IP.

What do you think? Are you excited for the announcement? Let us know below!

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Returnal Director Leaves Housemarque After 14 Years

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Returnal

Returnal director Harry Krueger has departed from the Housemarque after over a decade of work. Outside of Returnal, he worked on Outland, Resogun, and more during his tenure.

In a blog post on the Finnish studio’s website, the director expressed how fortunate he’s been working at the studio, about how he’s worked on “dream project after dream project,” and how he’s worked with so many talented people. He’s also optimistic that he’s leaving the studio at the best time as it’s stronger than ever since the PlayStation acquisition back in 2021.

General Manager and Co-Founder Ilari Kuittinen described Krueger’s contribution to the studio as “sculpting our studio’s trajectory to the current scale.” All that to say that a lot of the studio’s success can be attributed to the director’s hunger for good games.

Since the acquisition, it’s been working on a new IP that still remains under wraps.

What do you think? Are you excited to see what Krueger has in store for his future? Let us know below!

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Returnal Dev Hopes PS Plus Subscribers Will “Dare” To Play

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Returnal

PlayStation-owned Housemarque is hopeful that Returnal coming to PlayStation Plus will kick those on the fence to give it a shot and reach a wider audience. Of course many peoples’ issue with the game wasn’t the game itself, but more its price tag of a used-to-be-uncommon $69.99.

During a convo with Eurogamer after their big win at the BAFTA Games Awards, they took a chance to talk about the upcoming tiered system that PlayStation’s ready to implement into PS Plus later this year. Part of the appeal to the higher tiers is access to free games in a larger capacity than the the original plan, one such game that’s going to be there around launch is Returnal.

“As you know, it’s been a while since the release. And we know the people who get into [subscriptions] play a lot. There’s no hidden cost, if you like, it’s easy to get into.”

He then discussed Sony funding the development of the title.

“Sony does [make] some wise decisions, like funding this game. They started to fund this game five years ago, they took a leap of faith.”

As to how Returnal altered the types of games they seek to make and the DNA of their studio, it sounds like the rougelike is going to remain part of future endeavors.

“I mean, gameplay always comes first. So we always want the gameplay and the systems focus to be in the forefront. Obviously, we want to have an even better marriage between the two moving ahead.”

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PS5 Exclusive Returnal Wins Big At BAFTA Games Awards

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Returnal

Returnal has won big at the BAFTA Awards, netting PlayStation-owned developer Housemarque even more bragging rights to take home to their home country of Finland. During the event earlier today, the space-set rougelike took home a total of four awards.

On top of its Best Game win, the title also net the studio the Audio Achievement award and the Music award. As an added bonus, Jane Perry, who played the protagonist, also got an award for her lead performance in Returnal.

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PlayStation-Owned Housemarque Is Working On New IP

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Housemarque

Housemarque, the PlayStation-owned studio behind Returnal, is working on its next project, which so happens to be a brand-new IP, which will no doubt be at least a  larger-scale project than its coin-op inspired ones. During a recent interview with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi, co-founder and CEO Ilari Kuittinen alongside game director, Harry Krueger, was hit with the question of whether they are even interested in making live service games, which Sony is also seeking to bolster with its $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie.

While there could’ve been bigger news in their statement, Kuittinen did passively mention that the studio in the concepting phase of a new IP.

Before the days of the PS5 console exclusive, Returnal, Housemarque had their stint putting out shoot-’em-up arcade style games like Resogun and Super Stardust HD.

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Housemarque Refused “Big Players” Amid Sony Acquisition

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Housemarque

The Finnish game developer behind Returnal, Housemarque, was recently bought by Sony and brought under the PlayStation Studios banner. Apparently, the studio turned down some “big players” in the industry to be a part of Sony’s first-party lineup.

During an interview with Yle (via VGC), a Finnish-language publication, CEO Ilari Kuittinen noted they had turned down several other interested buyers but didn’t name names. 

He simply claimed they were the “usual suspects” from China, Sweden, and the US. 

“Usual suspects: big players in the sector from China, Sweden and the US. I have to say that we have had a very special spring and the fact that we were being competed for even feels a little surreal.”

The release of the PS5-exclusive Returnal brought Housemarque further into the PlayStation sphere and given its exclusivity, more attention by the community. The sci-fi adventure title was their most ambitious game to date, with a majority of their previous works leaning more into a run-and-gun style.

Housemarque isn’t going to entirely distance themselves from that style, though, with the acquisition, odds are they’ll continue to bring to life bigger projects like they want to.

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