Returnal Developer Housemarque Reveals It's Working On A New IP

Developer Housemarque is working on its next game, an unannounced new IP to follow 2021's Returnal. We're likely still a long way out from knowing what it is, however, seeing as the game is still in the early days of development.

"It's early days with us starting a new game, a new IP, concepting it out," Housemarque managing director Ilari Kuittinen said at the DICE Awards, according to VentureBeat. "We'll see what comes with that."

"At this stage, we're quite proud of what we accomplished with Returnal, and we're quite excited to pursue that same trajectory as a company," Returnal game director Harry Krueger added.

Whatever Housemarque is working on next, it will likely be console-exclusive to PlayStation hardware seeing as PlayStation acquired Housemarque back in June 2021. Prior to the acquisition, Housemarque had already closely collaborated with PlayStation on a number of titles, such as Super Stardust HD, Dead Nation, Resogun, and, most recently, Returnal.

In regards to the acquisition, Kuittinen said, "This gives our studio a clear future and a stable opportunity to continue delivering on gameplay-centric approaches, while still experimenting with new methods of narrative delivery and pushing the boundaries of this modern art form."

For now, we'll have to be content with playing more Returnal. Which isn't a bad thing--that game is superb. In GameSpot's Returnal review, Mike Epstein writes, "Do you need to be a little brave to play Returnal? Yeah. Do you need to be glutton for punishment? It helps. They say that anything worth doing should scare you at least a little bit. I'm not sure if that's always true, but Returnal makes a strong case."