Now that Samson is out, what has been the biggest lesson for Liquid Swords from the game’s launch?

When you are a team of experienced developers, sometimes, we think we have all our ducks in a row. This was the first time we launched a game on our own; a new IP from a new team /studio. It’s been a massively learning (the hard way) experience.

The biggest lesson is that players are a lot less forgiving when your fundamentals are inconsistent, even if the ideas behind the game connect. We built a game with a clear identity and a lot of systems people genuinely responded to, especially the driving, the pressure(debt) systems, the atmosphere, and the way Tyndalston feels when the game clicks. But we underestimated how much technical friction, combat readability, repetition and rough edges would drag down the overall experience.

Personally, I think our biggest lesson learned was failing to communicate clearly what kind of game Samson actually was at launch, both in terms of scope and most importantly condition. That blew up in our faces. People walked in with expectations we did not properly manage, especially around the level of polish, scale and technical state. That’s something we have to live with and are currently working on correcting.

You don’t get partial credit from players because you’re ambitious on a smaller budget. If the combat camera fights the player, if AI gets stuck, if performance stutters, if chases become repetitive, then the experience breaks down no matter how much personality the game has underneath. That execution and communication matters equally has been the two biggest lessons learned.

Samson launched to a mixed response from both players and critics. How has that reception affected your immediate priorities for the game?

It changed the order of priorities immediately. Before launch, a lot of the focus was naturally on getting the full experience shipped. After launch, it became very clear that stability, responsiveness, combat readability, AI behavior and mission variety needed to move to the top of the list.

The first patches focused heavily on performance and crashes because they had to. We pushed fixes almost immediately after launch. Since then, the work has shifted more toward gameplay feel, polish and long-term replayability.

The community feedback has actually been fairly consistent. Most players are pointing at the same things. That makes prioritization easier and we can avoid guessing or just going after the game-internal “passion projects”.

Were there any points of feedback from players that genuinely surprised you after launch?

Yes, a number of them. A personal favourite was how positively people reacted to some of the smaller systems. Jake Baldino calling out things like turning off the engine and lights to hide in your car, or using the nitro system, was important internally because it confirmed that players were noticing details we cared deeply about.

"A personal favourite was how positively people reacted to some of the smaller systems."

Another surprise was how divided players were on the debt and pressure systems. Some players absolutely love the anxiety and momentum it creates. Others find it stressful or restrictive. We expected that system to be polarizing, but probably not to that degree. Here’s also a lesson learned as we communicated heavily around the game loop / debt and how it tied into the narrative of the game. There are a lot of improvements to be done in this area.

The strongest surprise overall was how many players saw potential through the roughness. Even some of the harshest reviews described the game as a rough diamond. That tells us there’s a foundation worth continuing to build on. With every update we release, we get a lot of constructive feedback that actually is based around an understanding of the state of Liquid Swords as a business and the state of the games business in general.

Liquid Swords has already acknowledged that Samson launched with issues. Looking back, what do you think were the biggest factors that led to the game releasing in that state?

The biggest factors were scope versus resources (including financial resources). We’re not a 1000-person studio. We’re a relatively small veteran team trying to build a dense urban action game with driving, systemic combat, AI, police escalation, streaming open world systems and heavy atmosphere on a much tighter budget than people probably assume.

At some point you start making tradeoffs, because you have to. Some systems got more attention than others. Some issues were known but not solved to the level they should have been before launch. We probably also held onto certain ambitions for too long instead of simplifying earlier.

There’s also the reality that games like this become exponentially harder toward the end. Small technical issues start stacking together. AI navigation, collision, combat readability, streaming performance, camera work, vehicle interactions, all of it overlaps.

I’m not making excuses here, so the honest answer is that players paid for the game. They expect it to work properly or at least be informed of the state of the game they are buying.

The roadmap has focused heavily on stability, polish, performance, and community feedback. Which areas of the game are currently the highest priority for the team?

Combat feel, more variation are the biggest priorities right now. That includes camera work, enemy behavior, readability in larger fights, feedback, responsiveness and encounter pacing. The recent combat camera changes are only the first step there and we updated the game as of today (Wednesday the 20th), with a lot of focus on combat/camera.

NPC behavior is another major focus. Enemies getting stuck, navigation issues, inconsistent reactions, those things damage immersion very quickly in a game like this.

Mission variety is also high on the list. Not necessarily entirely new mission categories, but expanding what existing jobs can become. More scenarios, more unpredictability (or even predictability to avoid chaos), more tension and more layered objectives. Right now, we work with what we have in the game and avoid throwing in new stuff, before the game is fixed.

Then there’s continued optimization and polish across the board because the game still needs it.

Beyond fixes, are there any parts of Samson’s core gameplay loop that you are reconsidering or meaningfully improving based on player feedback?

Yes, absolutely! We are looking closely at pacing and repetition across the larger loop. Some players love the pressure structure, while others feel certain loops become too predictable over time.

"Mission variety is also high on the list. Not necessarily entirely new mission categories, but expanding what existing jobs can become. "

The debt system itself is something we still believe strongly in, but the surrounding gameplay needs more variation and more emergent situations to keep that pressure exciting rather than repetitive.

We’re also looking at how pursuits evolve, how combat escalates, how city systems react to the player, and how jobs chain into unexpected situations. The core identity of the game is not changing. But the depth and variety around it absolutely can and will improve.

Samson’s structure, the daily quota, action points, debt pressure, and escalating consequences, is one of its most distinctive ideas. How have players responded to that system?

It’s been very split, which was expected and completely natural. Some players completely understand what we were trying to do. They like the tension and they like feeling trapped in a system that constantly pressures them forward. It creates urgency and gives the game its personality. Other players feel restricted by it. They want more freedom and less pressure. The world we currently have is quite small, so we will gradually expand player autonomy as we expand the world.

What’s interesting is that even players who dislike the mechanic often still admit it makes the game feel different from other open world games. That’s important to us and we never wanted Samson to feel passive or comfortable.

The challenge now is making the system feel less repetitive while keeping the pressure intact.

Combat has been one of the major areas discussed by players. What specific improvements are you looking at for brawling, enemy behaviour, feedback, and encounter variety?

The biggest issue with combat at launch was readability and was frustrating to us as well. When fighting multiple enemies, the camera often became too tight. You simply felt too swarmed. Situational awareness broke down. Enemy attacks became harder to track and sometimes was unfair to the player.

Enemy behavior is also being expanded. Bulkier enemies now have more attack variety. Navigation and positioning have improved. We’re continuing to work on crowd behavior, spacing and reactions. We want players to feel that they can walk into a room and simply go “F-K you!” and start beating the crap out of a group of enemies with self-confidence, not relying on luck. Improvisation – look at your surroundings and use environmental hazards (my current favorite is the not-so-often used A/C falling down on enemies). Adapt – you can strategize and some enemies might have moved back in the group and can easily be taken down with a bottle thrown to the head. There are so many ways we can make the combat more varied and fun and on vision and we keep our fingers crossed we’ll be able to go all the way.

Feedback is another important area as hits need to feel clearer and heavier. Environmental interactions need to trigger more reliably. Combat rhythm needs to feel more intentional instead of chaotic. That pretty much sums up what I said earlier.

Encounter variety is equally important. Better combat systems matter, but if encounters feel too similar, players still burn out. That’s where expanded job scenarios and layered situations become important. For clarity, layered situations means that we combine different types of jobs into one and try to get the heart rates racing.

"Better combat systems matter, but if encounters feel too similar, players still burn out."

Tyndalston is clearly central to Samson’s identity. How satisfied are you with how the city came through at launch, and are there plans to make it feel more reactive or alive through updates?

The atmosphere and identity of Tyndalston are the parts of the game I’m most proud of. We have spent so much time building this world and there’s still so much we want to get into the game or in a sequel.

A lot of players connected with the city exactly the way we hoped they would. It feels hostile, decaying, oppressive and strange. Tyndalston has personality and that was one of the goals from the very get-go – City as a Character.

But there’s still room to make it feel more reactive and systemic. We want more situations that emerge naturally. More reasons for the player to pay attention to the city beyond navigation. More pressure. More unpredictability. More environmental storytelling. Traffic improvements, navigation updates and future world systems all feed into that.

Are you looking at adding more missions, activities, enemy types, vehicles, or districts, or is the focus still primarily on polishing what is already there?

Polish still comes first because it where we failed to deliver in the first place. We are actively discussing additional missions, expanded job scenarios, enemy variety, gameplay modifiers and new systems that build on what already exists.

The important thing is avoiding feature creep. We don’t want to randomly bolt on systems that dilute the game. The additions need to reinforce the identity of Samson and not introduce new features before we’ve fixed the existing ones. Right now, mission variety is probably the most important content area.

When will you consider Samson to be truly “done”? Is there a specific quality bar, content target, or player reception milestone you’re aiming for?

That’s a tough one and a very valid question. I think the best answer is when the conversation around the game shifts from technical frustration to the actual experience itself.

The game has rough edges and we know some reviews focused heavily on issues that deserved criticism. What is very inspirational to us is that there’s also a version of Samson underneath that people clearly connect with and that’s worth building on.

There’s no exact review score or sales milestone attached to that internally. It’s more about reaching a point where the game fully delivers on the experience we intended. Not from the very beginning as that is a completely different beast but sharpen the experience we have set out to build.

Do you think Samson’s smaller, rougher, more focused approach is something the industry needs more of, or has the launch shown how difficult that path can be?

I think it is the way forward, for independent developers such as us. Not saying that big-budget AAA is dead, because they are not. However, there is no publisher in the world right now that spends any money on a new IP with an external team. And I say that for certainty based on my own experience. Sure, there are older IP’s that some try to reawake, but those doesn’t come with a big budget either. There are obviously exceptions, like IO’s awesome looking 007 First Light.

With that said, smaller and more focused games is the way forward and the industry need more games that takes risks, have identity and don’t cost $300 or more to make. The middle ground has kind of disappeared.

The industry for sure needs more games that take risks, have identity, and don’t cost 300 million dollars to make. The middle ground has kind of disappeared. The launch of Samson also shows how difficult that path is technically and commercially. Players still compare your game against the biggest productions, especially when you work in a genre which is associated with sky-rocketing development costs. That puts a lot of pressure on smaller developers developing in that genre.

At the same time, there’s value in games that are a bit rougher but more personal and focused. The challenge is making sure the roughness doesn’t undermine the experience itself, as many players unfortunately experienced with the launch of Samson.

"There’s value in games that are a bit rougher but more personal and focused."

With the console versions planned for later this year, how much of the PC feedback is being folded into the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions?

Everything we’ve fixed and updated in the PC version will be folded into the console versions. That means that the console versions will benefit directly from everything we’ve learned post-launch on PC. Stability fixes, AI improvements, camera work, navigation improvements, combat updates, all of it feeds directly into the console builds.

In some ways, the PC launch became a very aggressive learning process for the whole game. The console versions should feel more mature because of that.

What kind of performance and visual targets are you aiming for on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S?

Our Tech Director Fredrik Lönn has responded to this question.

For PlayStation and Xbox Series X, we plan to have a performance and quality mode to choose from.

PS5 & XSX

• Quality: Dynamic resolution 1080-1660p with upscaling 4k
• Performance: 1080p with upscaling 4k

XSS

• 720p – 1200p with upscaling 1440p

Are you planning any PS5 Pro-specific enhancements, whether that’s higher resolution, improved frame rates, better visual settings, or ray tracing features?

Our Tech Director Fredrik Lönn has responded to this question.

PS5 Pro will feature higher-quality graphics.

Given the game’s current technical demands, is a Nintendo Switch 2 version something you would consider later, or is that not part of the plan for now?

Nintendo Switch 2 is currently not in the plans; our current focus is to make as great an Xbox and PlayStation version as possible.

After everything the team has gone through with development and launch, what gives you confidence about Liquid Swords’ future?

The Team! Despite the criticism, despite the rough launch, the team shipped a very difficult game with a very clear identity under tough conditions. Just releasing a game today, especially self-published, is a daunting task.

They also stayed with the company and as soon as the game was out, they tackled as many issued as they possibly could enabling us to respond quickly. They really owned the criticism rather than pretending it didn’t exist. As a founder and studio head, that loyalty, dedication and iron will, means a lot to me.

Many games, big and small, launch rough for various reasons. What matters is that the developer (us – Liquid Swords) understand why and learn from it, and keep on fixing the issues, improving the game with honesty instead of making excuses. We are doing just that!

We keep all the social channels open for discussion and have got some great feedback from the players and we continue to update the game. The next update is planned for June 9th and will be a BIG one.

How much of Disco Elysium’s DNA should players expect to see in ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies?

Kosmos: Disco was a good first draft of a new type of CRPG. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is the second draft. We’ve taken what worked well in Disco but also adapted it to a new setting, story and genre.

Beyond the visuals and overall art style, will there be any other connective tissue between ZERO PARADES and Disco Elysium?

Justin: As always, we hold story-telling and player agency in the highest regard. This time we prioritized giving players a wider variety of methods to overcome the obstacles they encounter throughout the game. This ties back to one of the central themes of our espionage story – making it up as you go along.

"Disco was a good first draft of a new type of CRPG. ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is the second draft."

How did the idea of translating espionage themed gameplay into a tabletop RPG styled system come about?

Kosmos: It felt like a very natural progression from what we’ve done before: Roleplaying as a roleplayer has a certain intuitive appeal, doesn’t it? As soon as we came to it, we knew that we had a strong hook that also offered us a different perspective on our roleplaying systems.

Justin: Of course, we knew early on that this would not be a stealth game. The player still has to have a high degree of freedom to roleplay as they choose, even when it goes against their own interests or those of the assignment.

This is what gives the whole a pleasing tension – the push and pull between the choices you want to make as a player and the choices you feel you should make for the sake of your assignment, not too dissimilar from real life.

ZERO PARADES revolves around a three way power struggle. Will players have opportunities to shift their allegiances during the story?

Kosmos: As in our contemporary reality, the geopolitical contest frames the story, but Hershel is not one of the secret puppet masters pulling the strings – she’s like the rest of us, at the whims of forces beyond her control. The real power struggle is internal – what is the player’s motivation for doing what needs doing, and how far are they willing to go to do it?
In the murky twilight realm of espionage, one must be ready to work with everyone.

One of Disco Elysium’s most memorable ideas was turning your stats into voices you could interact with. Will ZERO PARADES explore anything similar?

Justin: Absolutely. We are still very much interested in holding a mirror up to the dark and sticky things inside the player’s heart. We have 15 skills from 3 different faculties all vying for the players time and attention, not always in beneficial ways. What facets of yourself you listen to and which you tune out is an important part of crafting your character.

How do Pressures and Exertion factor into the regular flow of gameplay?

Kosmos: The job of a spy is thankless and hard. In ZERO PARADES, this is expressed via the pressures they face in the field: Anxiety, Delirium and Fatigue. Just like in real life, the right amount of pressure makes us perform – and the wrong amount makes us fold. When the player hits one of their limits, they lose a skill point in the associated faculty.

Pressures are managed via story events and consumables. Pressures are raised by exertion – a new mechanic. You can exert yourself on active checks to roll three dice instead of two, using the two highest against the check. This means that you have a better chance of succeeding, but doing so raises one of your pressures, giving the player a new balance between short-term gain and their long-term health.

"Pressures are managed via story events and consumables. Pressures are raised by exertion – a new mechanic."

The game’s description suggests that players will fail quite often. What kinds of consequences or punishments will failure bring?

Justin: As developers, accounting for both success and failure is what makes the game for us. We walk that line with a fine balance, both metaphorically and literally – failure can be as enticing as success, granted that it is entertaining.

At the same time, it’s not just about stumbling blindly forward through every situation. Every challenge in ZERO PARADES has multiple solutions, if you’re able to find them and, more importantly, if you’re willing to live with the consequences.

Will ZERO PARADES focus on one large central environment, or will players visit a variety of locations throughout the story?

Justin: Portofiro is a large city, made up of several districts. The heart of the story takes place around the formerly working class stronghold called Quisach, but the player’s adventures will bring them to a number of surrounding areas that are quite distinct both from one another and anything we’ve done before. There’s a colourful world out there for the player to explore and – we hope – fall in love with.

Luna Abyss occupies a unique space as a narrative focused bullet hell shooter. What inspired this pairing of genres?

Benni Hill: We have always been inspired by high-octane action games that tell stories – such as Nier: Automata – and wanted to take that inspiration into thematic areas that we as a team were interested in. A lot of Manga and Anime inspired how we approached our storytelling and action – with a focus on escalation and high-stakes.

Hollie Emery: We were also a bit obsessed with shmups and classic cave shooters, and exploring high density bullet hell patterns. We wanted to overcome the challenge of rendering lots of bullets on screen in a 3D space, as we felt it would create a unique gameplay experience for a first person shooter.

"Our visual style was heavily inspired by the infinite structures from the manga BLAME!"

What were the biggest inspirations behind Luna Abyss in terms of story, gameplay, and visual style?

Benni Hill: Our visual style was heavily inspired by the infinite structures from the manga BLAME! As well as soviet constructivist brutalism. The almost alien feel of concrete allowed us to conceptualise the Abyss, and from there we let our imaginations run wild – bringing in Victorian and diesel punk elements to build out the world.

For gameplay, we really drew on our love of action-adventure games – the feeling of exploring an alien environment and using the gun to interact via shooting was inspired by Metroid Prime, whereas the bullet-hell action was inspired by Nier: Automata. We envisioned a game where aiming was not the goal, but evasion of awesome bullet patterns, and high-threat attacks.

Narratively our inspiration comes from many different areas – but our love for manga and anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion – as well as strange fiction – drove our creativity to develop what we feel is a unique and engaging world and story.

How did the idea for the game’s main setting, a strange megastructure inside an artificial moon, come together?

Benni Hill: Harry, Hollie and myself had gone through a long process of concept exploration, and found that we kept coming back to one core concept – what if a new moon suddenly showed up in Earth’s orbit? What would people do? Would it spark a new type of space-race? What would they find on it? These questions were exciting, and the more we dug into them the more we found. The questions drove the mystery, and we wanted to share that mystery with players.

Hollie Emery: Harry was reading the manga BLAME! and wanted to explore megastructures in a game setting too. We hadn’t really encountered that style in a game before, so we were really excited to explore it. Creepypastas were also inspirational, such as the backrooms: weird, uncanny valley discomfort, and playing with scale to make the player feel like a small cog in a large machine.

Given that Luna Abyss takes place inside a derelict structure, how has the team avoided making its environments feel repetitive?

Benni Hill: Without giving too much away, the Abyss is not always as it seems. The structure is very liminal – what is up may be down – spaces that feel that they should be outside are inside. There is human architecture within the Abyss as well – these are mysteries that we want players to uncover as they play – but the flexibility of the world’s mystery has allowed us to create a suite of unique and interesting environments to explore!

"Without giving too much away, the Abyss is not always as it seems."

How varied will the arsenal be in Luna Abyss?

Benni Hill: Every weapon in Luna Abyss has a specific reason to exist to counter the enemies that you will face as you explore. We have four firearms, each with specific roles in combat – from a standard rifle (The Scout Rifle), to a cybernetic shotgun (The Shieldbreaker). The four weapons cover everything from sharpshooting to heavy artillery. To top that off we also have two execution skills to help regain health and clear multiple enemies.

Will certain weapons be more effective against specific enemy types or encounter designs?

Benni Hill: Each weapon has a specific reason to exist, and enemies will have varying states that require specific weapons to be used to overcome them. An example of this is that some enemies will have a blue shield that requires the Shield Breaker to shatter it. The Shield Breaker can be used as a standard weapon too, but has a longer cooldown than the Scout Rifle, so overusing it isn’t a wise choice. We aim for players to be fluidly moving between their arsenal in flow as they carve their way through the combat encounters – combining their firearms skills with their traversal skills.

What approach is Luna Abyss taking to storytelling?

Benni Hill: Our narrative team is passionate about building a world through the eyes of the characters that exist within it – including the inconsistencies of personal perspectives. There is a traditional narrative to follow at the heart of Luna Abyss that flows through to a conclusion for the protagonists, but the periphery of this world – and the strange characters you meet along the way – is for the player to discover, rather than for it to be forced on them. Interpretation is important to us, so instilling this idea in the story has always been key from the start.

Hollie Emery: We worked with loads of awesome voice actors to bring the story to life too, such as Safiyya Ingar, Nina Yndis, David Menkin, Amelia Tyler, Patrick Moy, Dianne Pilkington, Bethan Dixon Bate and more.

"Our narrative team is passionate about building a world through the eyes of the characters that exist within it – including the inconsistencies of personal perspectives."

Replayability is often an important part of the genre. How does Luna Abyss encourage multiple playthroughs?

Benni Hill: Luna Abyss has varying difficulty modes, including a hard mode, where players can challenge themselves to beat the game’s toughest bosses. There are also a lot of discoverable collectables, such as codex lore entries, that build out the story in unique ways. We have a level select to allow players to jump into missions to search for missing content and try to fill out the codex to hit 100%.

From a developer perspective, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro, and how does the added GPU power change your approach compared to the base PS5?

John Reynolds: Any increase in GPU power allows the developer to share the game world in more detail and give the player a more immersive experience.

What are your thoughts on PSSR 2.0, and what opportunities does it open up for your game?

John Reynolds: PSSR 2.0 allows games to target higher resolutions or framerates, which can show off the environments in all the detail, or get the smooth 60, 90, or 120 frames per second that make the experience feel great.

What resolutions and frame rates are you targeting on PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PS5 Pro?

John Reynolds: Luna Abyss targets 1920×1080 for all platforms. With the Series S and Steam Deck, we’re using some upscaling to keep the 60 framerate that makes the bullet hell work so well. The game is also Steam Deck verified.

Supermassive has worked across horror for years, but Directive 8020 feels like a bigger shift into sci-fi survival horror. How much did that genre change the team’s storytelling and design processes?

The Dark Pictures were always intended to develop new gameplay with each new entry in the series. With Directive 8020, we took a little bit longer than usual to iterate on our gameplay mechanics and raise the quality bar for the ongoing series. As part of this, we wanted to broaden our audience by including more “on the sticks” gameplay while preserving the narrative, branching drama that we’re so well known for. The game has a very interesting pace – you have these spikes of “lean forward” action where your survival is dependent on your own controls, with dips of “lean back” interactive drama where you can catch a breath. It’s important for us that we keep our games as accessible as possible, so gamers can always tailor their experience to their liking using difficulty settings. If you find that the “lean forward” sections are too hard, it’s even possible to make your character invulnerable for those moments.

"The Dark Pictures were always intended to develop new gameplay with each new entry in the series."

The sci-fi setting opens up different kinds of fear than your previous games. What unique opportunities did space, isolation, and the mimic-style alien threat create for horror?

Each Dark Picture game explores a different subgenre of horror, but this is the first time we’ve delved into sci-fi horror. Our story draws on many beloved sci-fi sources, but perhaps most of all, we were inspired by John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” We wanted to create a shape-shifting alien which could pose as a human and infiltrate your ship’s crew, causing you to question who among them you could really trust.

I think space is truly terrifying as you’re effectively locked in a tin can, surrounded by death! Everything beyond the walls of your bubble is hostile to human life. This makes it a perfect setting for a horror story.

Setting the game in space gives us so many opportunities to create feelings of dread (and wonder!). While it’s so vast, it is also intimate, as you’re cooped up together in a vessel. Claustrophobia and isolation are key feelings too.

Scifi was interesting for us, as in the past, we’ve often centred our stories around teen horror. For this one, we wanted to tell a story about scientists using their heads to solve their problems. It’s a very different tone.

As the fifth Dark Pictures game, how standalone is Directive 8020 for newcomers, and what connective tissue still matters for longtime fans of the anthology?

Directive 8020 is a stand-alone title in that you don’t need to have played our previous games to enjoy it, but it’s set in the same shared world as our other titles and is very much a Dark Pictures game. There are plenty of Easter Eggs and connective tissue in the game that reinforce this. I can’t say much more without spoiling!

For Directive 8020, we have settled on the tagline “A Dark Pictures Game”, which tells our fans that it is part of the shared universe, without suggesting that it is an essential follow-on to other games in the series.

We had feedback that many newcomers thought that they had to play through our games sequentially – partially due to terms like “Season.” So, we wanted to ensure that our messaging is clear for our audiences.

"There are plenty of Easter Eggs and connective tissue in the game that reinforce this."

Turning Points is one of the game’s biggest new ideas. What problem were you trying to solve with that feature, and how did you make sure it adds flexibility without undercutting tension?

Our main goal with Turning Points was to show players how much branching there is in the game and let them easily jump back to decision points to make the experience of exploring the story as graceful as possible. In essence, it is a visual map of the story that shows your path through the story – by selecting turning points, you can “rewind” your story to redo your choices. We know people often give our games multiple playthroughs to find out all the different branches. So, it’s just really showing players that there’s an easier way to access these different points.

Choices are really important in our games – the magic of our game structure is that the story keeps rolling even if characters die when you make the wrong decision. But we also know that some players will stop playing when their beloved character dies. With rewinds, we’re giving them the opportunity to explore the story freely.

Many of our players love that classic “no second chances” style: if they want to play the original way, where every choice is irreversible, we have a Survivor mode playstyle mode that lets them see the decision tree but turns off rewinds.

Survivor Mode seems aimed at players who want the classic no-safety-net Dark Pictures experience. How important was it to preserve that old-school pressure alongside Turning Points?

It’s really important to us that players can play Directive 8020 how they like. We want to be respectful of their time. Some players will really appreciate the ability to rewind or explore different branches in the story – and they will really like Turning Points. Our testing with the system has really surprised us with how popular it is, even on first playthroughs.

However, we also know that many players will want the classic experience. This decision pressure is something that resonates with many of our players. Survivor mode is for them, and we expect this will be a popular mode too, especially on first playthrough.

"It’s really important to us that players can play Directive 8020 how they like."

Directive 8020 appears to push more into real-time danger, stealth, and direct threat management than earlier anthology entries. How far were you willing to evolve the formula without losing the studio’s core identity?

The key reason is we wanted to keep upping the fear. There’s nothing scarier than when you are being hunted by a creature in real time. However, a lot of hide-and-seek games can feel pretty relentless – for us, we wanted to sprinkle these moments through the game to create a unique tempo. They’re intentionally quite simple. It’s really not a hardcore stealth game.

Directive 8020 is more hands-on than our previous titles, but it still features impossible dilemmas, intense cinematic drama, secrets, and everything else you love from our previous Dark Pictures games.

Movie Night returns with up to five-player couch co-op, and online multiplayer is planned as a free update after launch. How did you approach the social side of horror this time around?

Couch co-op is our classic “Movie Night” experience, where up to five players take turns controlling the cast and play the game together to survive the story. In couch co-op, you only need one controller, which is passed around the room as different turns come into play. This has always been our most popular multiplayer mode, so we wanted to bring it online for the first time and allow players to get together with friends wherever they are. This online mode is looking really good but we just need a little longer to finish it.

So, Directive 8020 will launch with offline couch co-op play, with the online version following as a free update soon after. One of the cool things that online couch co-op play supports is multiple users on the same connection – for example, you could have two people playing on one machine, connected to three people playing on another. We call this “bringing living rooms together” and we expect it to be quite popular!

"Directive 8020 is more hands-on than our previous titles"

Were there any lessons from The Quarry or earlier Dark Pictures titles that directly shaped how you approached pacing, character control, or replayability here?

We are always learning and improving the art of telling branching narrative stories. Each story has a different narrative shape, and each learns in some ways from those that came before. We’ve experimented with extremely branching stories – Man of Medan is an example of this – and we’ve tried more focused stories like Little Hope. It’s important that each story is shaped differently to avoid predictability.

In Directive 8020, the end of the story has one of the most unpredictable setups we’ve ever made. For the final episode, practically any combination of characters is possible – it’s even possible to have just one survivor for the entire episode. It’s also possible to end the story half-way through the game in a calamitous event we call the “death spiral.”

For pacing, we were mindful that a good game story needs regular spikes of action. In Directive 8020, this was one of the reasons for us including “flash forward” scenes to up the tempo in the earlier stages of the story.

Replayability was the reason for including Turning Points. We trialled a similar system in the Casting of Frank Stone, but Directive 8020 has really honed it into something special.

The “trust no one” premise seems central to the story. How do you build paranoia into both the writing and the player’s decision-making without making outcomes feel random?

It was important to make the mimics in our story very good imitators – we didn’t want them to speak or act in a distinct way that would make them too easy to identity. There are certain “tells” that the player can pick up on (which I’m not going to spoil here!) but on the whole, they are good at their job!

The shape-shifting aspect of our creatures is a really fun part of the story, but it’s not the whole story – the organism goes through various stages across the game, with some forms much more monstrous. We really leaned into body horror for some of these moments!

"There are certain “tells” that the player can pick up on (which I’m not going to spoil here!) but on the whole, they are good at their job!"

What were the biggest creative influences behind the setting and story? Were you looking more to classic sci-fi horror, modern survival horror, or something else entirely?

John Carpenter’s “The Thing” was probably the big inspiration, but the story also draws on movies like Aliens, Sunshine, Life – and books, including H.P. Lovecraft’s “Mountains of Madness.” Our games are very cinematic, so we’re always asking ourselves “how would this happen in a movie?”. It’s a good guiding light.

The PS5 Pro version has already been detailed publicly with PSSR, ray tracing, and other enhancements. How much do those visual gains matter specifically for horror, where mood and legibility are both so important?

It’s hugely important – lighting matters in horror much more than in other genres. Quality of visuals is also very important for creating a sense of believability. That suspension of disbelief is vital for creating meaningful fear.

Replayability has always mattered in your games, but Directive 8020 feels especially built around revisiting branches and outcomes. How many substantially different playthroughs do you think players can realistically get out of it?

We have a range of choices, some small, some large, that impact the outcome of your story throughout. Some of our outcomes are based on “compound choices” i.e. the sum of multiple choices. Each character, for example, has two different “destiny” moments that are unlocked through traits that can only be changed by conversations with other crew members. At the end of the game, we also have some fairly major ending outcomes. There is also a “hidden link” to one of our previous games that only unlocks if a certain character survives…

Invincible is known for its brutality, but the beta showed that you are trying to make that violence feel organic to the fight rather than just spectacle. What was the philosophy behind translating that tone from the comics and show into a competitive fighting game?

Mike – We never wanted to stop the action. Just like the shows and comics, we wanted the stakes of battle to feel organic and natural to the action. If a move could kill, we wanted that represented on screen showing the stakes of battle.

Invincible VS is entering a crowded space of tag fighters. What do you see as the game’s clearest gameplay identity, and how do you want it to stand apart from other 3v3 titles?

Mike – We focused on our authenticity to the brutal stakes of fighting in the Invincible Universe, and we wanted to bring all the knowledge that we had built up on our years of KI to the tag battle genre, introducing more 2 way interactions between players. Even when you’re getting hit, you have a chance to get right back into the battle.

"If a move could kill, we wanted that represented on screen showing the stakes of battle."

The open beta leaned heavily on ranked play, tutorial, and practice mode. What were the biggest takeaways from player feedback, and what changed as a result?

Dave – We updated our damage scaling based on the amount of easy and repeatable touch of deaths that were occurring, we wanted to make sure the higher damage combos go through the tag system. Another area we looked into was making sure moves that felt like they should get punished, could be punished.

You’ve talked about approachability without “dumbing down” the game. How are you balancing accessibility for Invincible fans who may be new to fighting games with the expectations of veteran players?

Dave – We have a variety of easy combos that players can enjoy, there are auto combos by pressing light attack, magic chains, and specials that can be used as openers. The easier routes for combos are not optimal for meter or damage scaling but veteran players can use our open combo system to maximize damage and meter gain.

The tag system clearly opens the door for big combo creativity, but beyond tagging, what are the most important mechanics players should learn to really understand the game at a deeper level?

Mike – We have a unique combo structure where you can go from normal attacks to special moves, and back into normal attacks. Learning how to cancel from our various attack types and manipulating those moves through our boost system allows you to extend your combos and be very creative.

"The easier routes for combos are not optimal for meter or damage scaling"

What is your overall balance philosophy at launch? Should players expect fast responses to things like infinites and broken tech, or are you aiming for larger, more measured balance updates?

Dave – If there are issues that are ruining the fun time for our players we will jump on those as soon as possible. But we want to be very careful with our updates to balance moving forward, we will be watching how the meta progresses and address tuning in a measured way.

The full game includes a cinematic story mode with an original narrative. What can solo or offline-focused players expect from that mode beyond just a series of fights?

Mike – There are several arcade modes to play through with varying degrees of challenge. Each character has a unique ending you unlock by beating any arcade mode with them as the point character. Additionally players are rewarded for all their competitive activities with Player and Character rewards. You can unlock new character colors, player card customization items, music, art, and various collectibles from the Invincible Universe.

Training tools can make or break a modern fighter. What kinds of training mode options, frame-data tools, combo assistance, and tutorials are you prioritizing?

Mike – The Tutorial will teach the fundamentals of our combat system. Our practice mode offers a variety of dummy options, recording and playing back inputs, and frame/attack data displays to allow for deep diving into scenarios with your favorite characters.

"Each character has a unique ending you unlock by beating any arcade mode with them as the point character."

The beta let players queue from practice into ranked, which is a great quality-of-life feature. Are there any other online or lab features you think competitive players will especially appreciate?

Mike – Our practice mode offers a variety of dummy options, recording and playing back inputs, and frame/attack data displays to allow for deep diving into scenarios with your favorite characters.

With the Year 1 pass already confirmed and Immortal and Universa announced first, how are you thinking about post-launch support beyond just adding characters? Are there plans for new modes, story additions, or major system updates?

Mike – Nothing to announce at this time but we are looking into more support for the game including updates to balance and quality of life improvements.

Given the team’s fighting-game pedigree, including veterans with Killer Instinct experience, were there any lessons from past projects that directly shaped how Invincible VS handles pacing, readability, or hype moments?

Dave – We love hype moments! From overkills to feints, we really enjoy celebrating the hype moments that turn the tide of battle.

"We love hype moments!"

From a developer perspective, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro, and how does the added GPU power change your approach compared to the base PS5?

Bill – As a competitive fighting game, Invincible VS has strict performance requirements on all platforms, so PS5 Pro’s capabilities allowed us maximize optimization efforts on lower-end GPUs, while pushing visual fidelity and resolution quality even further for PS5 Pro owners.

What resolutions and frame rates are you targeting on PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PS5 Pro?

Bill – We are targeting 60hz gameplay on all target platforms; consoles included. We leverage dynamic resolution techniques internally to make careful trade-offs between detail and performance in various stages of the rendering pipeline. We target 4K output on both PS5 platforms, but PS5 Pro’s more powerful GPU allows us to crank dynamic resolution targets to achieve crystal clear 4K output.

One of the headline additions in MotoGP 26 is the new physics model. In practical terms, how much will that change the feel of riding from corner entry to exit for returning players?

In previous MotoGP titles, the player had the control on the bike, and the rider’s body would move consequently. With MotoG 26, it’s exactly the opposite: the input acts directly on the rider, who then moves the bike accordingly. I believe this makes the riding model more accessible, because every feedback coming from the bike is more direct and easier to read. Overall, it will be easier to complete a clean lap, but more importantly, it will be easier to understand where mistakes were made and how to improve.

Milestone is highlighting Rider Based Handling and more meaningful body movement and weight shifting. Was the goal more realism, more readability for players, or both?

The main goal was realism, but a more realistic game is not necessarily more difficult. As I mentioned, the new riding system has made the bike’s behaviour more readable, so I believe even less experienced players will feel more comfortable. It’s no coincidence that we decided to introduce this control system into the arcade experience as well.

Rider Ratings are a big addition this year. Beyond influencing AI behaviour, do those ratings materially affect the handling or feel of a rider when players choose them directly?

No, that’s something we deliberately avoided in order not to place filters between the player and his bike. On the other hand, we had fun shaping the skills that reflect the riders’ aggressiveness, reliability, race pace, and qualifying abilities. Overall, I think we’ll see a much more varied and realistic behavior on track.

"We had fun shaping the skills that reflect the riders’ aggressiveness, reliability, race pace, and qualifying abilities."

How often are Rider Ratings likely to be updated during the real 2026 season, and how quickly do you want the game to reflect real-world momentum swings?

I think that in the first few months we’ll update the skills roughly every two weeks, more or less at the end of each Grand Prix. At the start of the championship, the on-track values aren’t fully clear yet, but after a few months I expect the situation to stabilize, and these frequent updates won’t be necessary anymore. On the other hand, we have a secret weapon: we can assign favorite tracks to the riders, allowing them to perform better on certain circuits. Another way to make the gameplay experience even more realistic.

The revised Arcade and Pro experiences sound like a major pillar this year. How far apart are those two modes in terms of assists, physics depth, and the overall skill ceiling?

I’d say they are two completely different experiences. Pro mode is designed for our most dedicated fans, those who want the most realistic experience possible and are willing to play through all the sessions of a race weekend to find the right feeling with both the bike and the track. The Arcade experience is the exact opposite: it aims to offer fun even to those who have little time to invest in the evening and want to feel competitive right away. You’ll be dealing with a more stable bike, more powerful brakes, and more forgiving collisions with opponents.

The new paddock flow, press conferences, and Rider’s Market suggest a bigger push toward career immersion. How important was it for MotoGP 26 to feel like more than just race weekends?

Our goal was to fully recreate the true MotoGP experience. The new environments, interviews, and meetings with team managers are all things MotoGP fans are used to seeing on TV every weekend, and we wanted to make them the protagonists of the world they follow with so much passion. The design of environments, characters, and camera angles was done with the aim of reproducing as faithfully as possible what you can actually see on television.

"Pro mode is designed for our most dedicated fans, those who want the most realistic experience possible and are willing to play through all the sessions of a race weekend to find the right feeling with both the bike and the track."

Race Off content like Production Bikes and Canterbury Park seems designed to broaden variety. How do those additions fit into the overall identity of the game?

Production bikes were chosen because, in real life, riders use them between races to train, since they can’t use MotoGP bikes outside official events. As for Canterbury Park, when we started the design phase we came up with a small backstory: a group of motorcycle enthusiasts buying an abandoned warehouse and transforming the surrounding area into a sort of playground for two-wheel addicts. In short, we try not to leave anything to chance, even when it comes to secondary game modes.

Multiplayer and community are increasingly important in racing games. Beyond standard online racing, are there plans for deeper social tools like leagues, clubs, or privately hosted competitive communities?

At the moment I can’t reveal that kind of details, but I can tell you that we’ve worked hard to improve the online experience and to expand the number of players in online lobbies to 22. It’s something the community has been asking for a long time, so they can recreate full MotoGP grid competitions.

Since cross-play is confirmed on the main platforms but not on Switch or Switch 2, what were the biggest technical or design reasons behind that split?

It wasn’t a technical limitation, but a design choice. Essentially, Switch doesn’t provide analog triggers on its controllers, so we had to create slightly different physics that could handle less precise modulation of braking and acceleration. Given these differences, we decided it wouldn’t be good to have those players compete against players on other platforms, as we wanted to ensure the most balanced and fair online competition possible.

"Switch doesn’t provide analog triggers on its controllers, so we had to create slightly different physics that could handle less precise modulation of braking and acceleration."

The latest deep dive notes platform-specific grid differences on Nintendo hardware. How close is the Switch 2 version to the PS5 and Xbox Series versions in terms of simulation depth, features, and presentation?

In terms of features, Switch 2 is fully aligned with the other platforms, except for the online aspects we already discussed. Races run at a stable 30 fps and include all official riders on track, even in the lower categories where there can be up to 28 competitors. Compared to other consoles, we had to make some optimizations to the vegetation, but I have to say the overall visual impact especially in handheld mode is very good.

Alongside live Rider Ratings, what does your post-launch roadmap look like? Should players expect regular gameplay tuning, fresh events, or other seasonal updates?

We’ve already planned events and activities that will bring players a bit closer to the world of MotoGP. Our most dedicated fans can probably already imagine what we’re talking about, but for now I can’t reveal anything yet.

For players who may have skipped a year or two, what would you say is the single biggest reason MotoGP 26 will feel noticeably different the moment they pick up the controller?

I believe MotoGP 26 is the culmination of everything good we’ve done over the years, and it offers the most complete career mode we’ve ever created. Training, interviews, contracts, environments, and realistic cutscenes all come together into a single experience, where every element contributes to the journey of becoming a world champion.

What inspired the decision to bring back a classic 1990s era franchise like Screamer?

Screamer has been a game that we wanted to bring back since its last installment. A new pitch would come around every few years, but we felt that they weren’t quite landing since we were searching for that very bold ingredient to make the game stand out in the racing game market. This all changed when we decided to power up the original idea of Screamer with our love for Japan animation and fighting games.

One of Screamer’s core mechanics is the Echo system. When did it become a central part of the project, and how did it influence the overall design of the game?

The Echo System was present since the pitch for the game, albeit in a more primordial form. Having taken inspiration from fighting games we knew we wanted an element of vehicular combat in the game and everything else needed to be designed around that, so that the racing part wouldn’t be drowned under these types of mechanics.

"Screamer has been a game that we wanted to bring back since its last installment."

In races with multiple opponents, how does the Echo system work in terms of its tug of war style gameplay?

When racing it’s quite important to engage strategically with the resources offered by the Echo System. A Boost used in the perfect track section, a Shield activated at the right time, a well-positioned Strike against an opponent, a masterfully controlled Overdrive until its end are all things that spice up racing in Screamer and can (and do) make the difference between victory and defeat.

Screamer’s story is said to be inspired by classic racing anime. What were some of the key influences behind its narrative and tone?

We took inspiration from any type of anime, not just racing anime, because we wanted our story to feel different from your standard racing game. Also, as I mentioned before, we are big fans of anime ourselves and we wanted to fully embrace that style of narrative for our game. Expect some big surprises and a plethora of mature themes.

Beyond racing and story, how important is customisation to the overall experience?

We’ve put quite a lot of effort into customization because even if our cars are designed to fit a specific character, we wanted the player to still be able to give them a personal touch. Customisation in this game doesn’t have performance modifiers attached to it, so you can customize any car with a slew of pre-made options without worrying about the handling.

The game features both a pseudo cyberpunk city aesthetic and tracks that run through natural environments like forests. How did you balance these contrasting settings in terms of story and tone?

"We took inspiration from any type of anime, not just racing anime, because we wanted our story to feel different from your standard racing game."

Balancing the variety in our environment hasn’t been easy. First, a lot of work has gone into creating background lore for everything so that our artists had a clearer picture of the mood they should strive for the tracks. Then, since the contrast between the locations wasn’t something avoidable we instead decided to embrace it and we quickly made it a keyword to use throughout the entire game as a guide; you can see this contrast in many things, like the VFX designed to look more anime-like with the realistic lighting, the almost painted skies against the realistic cars, or even the characters and how their contrasting personalities make the narrative unfolds. Quite a lot of work has been done to blend these souls together and we hope that players will appreciate that.

What core multiplayer modes can players expect at launch?

At launch players will be able to bring the competition Online in a playlist of game modes and Private Lobbies, with Ranked Team Race coming shortly after launch.

How does the Echo system function in online races where every player is managing their own Echo gauge?

Online the Echo System brings a whole new level of depth to the competition, since tricking other players into wasting their resources, by faking a Strike for example, becomes essential to come out on top at higher skill levels.

What resolutions and frame rates are you targeting on PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 Pro?

The game runs at 60FPS with enhanced frame rates on Series X and PS5 Pro.

Replaced has a striking art style. What were the biggest inspirations behind this look, and how did you translate those influences into the final visual direction?

While the artstyle of Replaced is not particularly new, we have been hard at work combining different approaches and experimenting with what works and what doesn’t when it comes to 2.5D pixel-art. With notable, recent inspirations being games like Octopath Traveler and The Last Night, we have obviously been inspired by classics like Flashback and Another World as examples of more grounded approaches to making a sidescroller.

"We have been hard at work combining different approaches and experimenting with what works and what doesn’t when it comes to 2.5D pixel-art"

Going beyond the pixel art aesthetic, we have also gathered quite a lot of knowledge from games that do completely different visuals, while driving for a more cinematic feel. The likes of Limbo, Inside, Deadlight and other games that have been praised for their general atmosphere, lighting or camerawork.

And how can we forget Disney’s Hercules for PSX? Total next gen 2.5D!

What are the core themes you are exploring in Replaced, and how important is the presence of AI to the story given the current state of the world?

The main topic of our story is “what does it mean to be a human?”. AI is always present in some shape or form in the context of the cyberpunk/retrofuturistic genre, so it was just a means to explore this topic within a setting that we adore. For us, being relevant in terms of news agenda was never the point, since we started the development of Replaced much earlier than the current AI boom has happened. Our own reality is much more bleak and mundane in terms of actual problems that have arisen due to AI overuse. Meanwhile in Replaced, we wanted to explore AI usage gone wrong when applied to a much more complex task – that of biotransplantology – and the societal consequences this may have.

How do you approach the balance between combat and exploration across the full experience?

Even though our game is heavily focused on a cinematic and atmospheric component, we still have quite a bit of combat encounters, which tend to get progressively harder towards the end of the game. It’s not our goal to be hardcore, so at one point we had to lessen the difficulty of late combat encounters.

It’s important to have an internal sense of rhythm so that one part of the game ends at the right time, leaving room for the next one.

"The main topic of our story is “what does it mean to be a human?”."

As players progress, what kinds of new moves or abilities will they unlock, and how do these additions change the flow of combat?

We have several gadgets that players will obtain during their playthrough. Most of them have dual purposes for both combat and platforming. For example: the mechanized pickaxe destroys enemy’s armor, but it also allows you to climb walls. Or, let’s say, one particular pistol upgrade allows you to deflect enemy’s bullets while in combat, but during platforming it grants you a double jump ability.

Replaced has been described as a cinematic action platformer. What does that mean in practical terms, and what sets it apart from more traditional platformers?

It mostly comes down to the amount of pain in the butt that we have to overcome while developing it! The main difference is the way the story is connected with the gameplay. All the camera work, VFX, overall cinematography – this is something that is usually not present in traditional arcade platformers.

The second main difference is level design: level structure and design can be absolutely abstract and random in classic platformers. In a cinematic platformer we have to make level design believable: we have to incorporate all platforming elements in a 2D manner, while keeping the surroundings grounded, as if this is something that could happen in real life.

What is the intended balance between melee and ranged combat, and is there a preferred style you expect most players to lean on?

We’re locked within a 2D framework, so our main focus is melee combat. Ranged combat is a part of core combat, but it’s mostly a method of getting rid of the most annoying enemies. Our game rewards aggressive playstyle. Your gun charges when you hit enemies. If the player is being passive and rolls a lot, they will lose gun charge. And since the Huxley (the name of the gun) is your most powerful option in combat, you really want to keep it charged. The protagonist – R.E.A.C.H. – also gets progressively faster in his attacks if you chain a combo without being hit or without being passive for too long.

"Ranged combat is a part of core combat, but it’s mostly a method of getting rid of the most annoying enemies."

The lighting in the trailers and screenshots stands out a lot. How did the team achieve that look, both artistically and technically?

Lighting is the core component of any cinematic scene, and with Replaced the goal has always been to make the game look and feel as cinematic as possible throughout the whole experience. To make it look like it does in the videos and screenshots, while running decently on the lower-end hardware, we have spent a lot of time developing our own Scriptable Rendering Pipeline for Unity, combining some of the great visual features and post processing effects found in Unity’s HDRP with the tailored performance optimizations specific to our game.

After that it’s all about carefully planning out the scenes to not only support the game design needs, but also have space for dramatic lighting opportunities, all while navigating the peculiarities of this particular style.

Roughly how long is the game expected to be, and how much optional content is there for completion focused players?

We’re not forcing any side-content on players, so it really depends on your playstyle. I would say that the average might be around 8 hours, and 11-12 if you’re really searching for optional stuff.

Is there a specific reason Replaced is not coming to PS5?

When we first started developing Replaced and speaking to the various platform partners, we decided to launch it as an Xbox-first and Game Pass title as we felt this was the right fit for us.

"We’re not forcing any side-content on players, so [the game’s length] really depends on your playstyle."

What resolutions and frame rates are you targeting on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X?

We’re still in the process of final polishing (the game is rather heavy graphics-wise), but we hope that we can lock it at 4K/60 for Series X and 1440p/60 for Series S.

Do you have plans to bring Replaced to Nintendo Switch 2?

We can’t confirm any additional platforms at this time.

Saber Interactive’s co-op action games have become known for how large the attacking hordes tend to be. How much of this feature was developed over the course of  Space Marine 2?

At Saber, we have our own proprietary engine called The Swarm Engine, which we have developed for many years. With Space Marine 2, we pushed that technology much further. The scale became more epic. The battles became more cinematic. We refined animation blending, pathing, collision, and large-scale combat readability so players could fight enormous swarms without losing clarity. It wasn’t just more enemies, it was better enemies in bigger, more intense battle spaces, all coordinated with our signature AI Director.

Now with Toxic Commando, we’re blowing it out of the water.

"The scale became more epic. The battles became more cinematic."

We are introducing new enemy types, more randomness in swarm behavior, and a much more advanced AI Director. That AI Director constantly evaluates the battlefield and orchestrates encounters so they feel dynamic. On top of that, we’re doing it in a much larger world with vehicles, terrain deformation, and far more strategic options for players.

Because the world is bigger and more systemic, the swarms aren’t just something you shoot, but a coordinated attack where you and your teammates need to use everything in your arsenal to survive, with every battle playing out differently.

With Saber’s proprietary Swarm Engine, we can create truly unique, over-the-top battles at a scale that very few studios can achieve.

Aside from the standard hordes of enemies, what kind of special enemies can we expect?

Aside from the standard hordes, we have designed a lineup of special enemies that adds a lot of variety to the battles. For example, the Skunk is infected with a toxic substance that releases a red infectious vapor, poisoning you over time while also boosting nearby enemies. So, if you ignore it, the entire horde suddenly becomes more dangerous. The Stalker is a ranged threat with both basic and charged attacks, but what really makes it unique is its ability to root vehicles in place. When that happens, you will be forced to jump out and destroy the tentacles blocking the vehicle. The Nuker is our explosive enemy that detonates in close proximity, and we’ve even added a Fire Nuker variant that leaves behind a burning hazard zone, turning safe ground into a temporary death trap. Then there’s the Goon, a big, tough disabler that will rush you, grab you, and pummel you to death if your friends don’t react quickly. These enemies aren’t just stronger versions of the horde, they are designed to create layered combat and force groups to change tactics. And of course, we have a few more surprises waiting for players to discover.

Will there be any epic boss fights that promote a greater degree of teamwork and problem-solving?

One of our main goals with Toxic Commando was to move beyond the traditional “big enemy with a big health bar” and create true event-style battles that require teamwork, coordination, and problem-solving. Thanks to our proprietary Swarm Engine, we’re able to combine massive, dynamic swarm encounters with unique special enemies and then layer in over-the-top, boss-like encounters. At the center of it all is the Sludge God, the creator of these creatures, who doesn’t just spawn enemies but creates chaotic battle situations by manipulating the environment and unleashing creatures that can be dynamic during the battles. Some encounters aren’t just about shooting a boss, they require players to manage the swarms while adjusting to environmental threats and responding to special enemies. We really focused on adding variety not only to the core combat loop but especially to the big event battles that really make the game fun to play.

"Thanks to our proprietary Swarm Engine, we’re able to combine massive, dynamic swarm encounters with unique special enemies and then layer in over-the-top, boss-like encounters."

How large of a role will vehicles play in the course of a standard mission?

Vehicles play a major role in a standard mission where they are not just transportation, but part of the core gameplay loop. The world in Toxic Commando is large and dangerous, so navigating the environment is far more effective in a vehicle, especially when the enemies start to close in. Players who aren’t driving can lean out the windows to fire their weapons or man mounted guns on certain vehicles, which makes travel a combat-filled experience. Your main truck is also equipped with tools that directly impact survival, including an EMP charge that can clear out large numbers of enemies and a grapple hook that helps pull you free from mud or other terrain hazards. Some of the most fun moments happen when multiple players each have their own vehicle, moving together across the map, forming a deadly caravan. It is always my most enjoyable moment in the game when we have multiple vehicles driving across the world.

Saber Interactive is also known for its ultra-simulationist driving games like SnowRunner. Will any of that DNA make it into Toxic Commando in terms of having to deal with crises that involve vehicles?

Yes, absolutely. At Saber we’ve developed a deep expertise in vehicle simulation through games like SnowRunner, and we’ve taken a lot of what we learned there and applied it to Toxic Commando. That said, we were very careful about balance. Our vehicles are rooted in realism with weight, traction, terrain interaction all parts of the experience, but they’ve been tuned to ensure that getting around the world feels fun and engaging rather than punishing. At its core, Toxic Commando is an action game with vehicles, not a hardcore driving simulator, so the priority was always making sure the vehicle gameplay enhances the experience instead of slowing it down. We had to strike a balance between authentic vehicle behavior and over-the-top action, and we feel we’ve found a sweet spot where the driving adds tension and strategy without ever distracting from the core combat experience.

How customizable will the vehicle be? Are we stuck with the mounted machine gun on top or can we swap it out for something else?

Vehicles in Toxic Commando have been designed around strategy and world unpredictability. Because vehicles spawn dynamically, both in terms of type and location, we’ve assigned specific mounted weapons to specific vehicle types. So, if you find a certain truck or armored vehicle, you’ll know what kind of mounted gun it comes with. We made that choice intentionally. While players can improve vehicles characteristics through their class progression tree, each vehicle’s features and abilities remain fixed and cannot be altered. This encourages players to think more strategically when using vehicles in the world. It also reinforces the dynamic nature of each mission. There may be times when you spawn into a level and there isn’t a vehicle nearby, forcing you to either search for one or push forward on foot. That unpredictability is part of the game, and it makes various sessions play differently. However, each vehicle is visually customizable — for example: changing the color, swapping out honk sounds, adding graffiti, modifying the headlights.

"Because vehicles spawn dynamically, both in terms of type and location, we’ve assigned specific mounted weapons to specific vehicle types."

Aside from the story itself, will Toxic Commando feature any other form of player progression?

Yes, Toxic Commando features player progression beyond the story itself. If you’re familiar with Space Marine 2, you’ll recognize many of the core progression philosophies we have in Toxic Commando. The game includes class-based progression tied directly to the classes you choose to play. The more you use a specific class, the more you advance it, unlocking improvements and strengthening that role over time. This progression carries outside of individual sessions, so even after a mission ends, you continue building your long-term class.

In addition to class progression, there’s also weapon progression and upgrades. As you play, you earn resources that can be spent on improving weapons and items, allowing you to tailor your loadout to your preferred playstyle. We wanted players to feel rewarded for time invested, while also giving them meaningful choices about how they evolve their characters. The result is a system that supports replayability, encourages experimenting with different classes, and reinforces that sense of growing stronger the more you play.

How can you describe the overall flow of a mission in Toxic Commando? Will it be more free-form, or a more linear experience where we’re basically running from point A to B?

Each mission in Toxic Commando is built around a clear overall objective, but how you get there is much more flexible. We didn’t want it to feel like a straight line from point A to point B. Instead, missions are structured to encourage exploration and player choice. Along the way, there are side objectives that can be completed in different orders, and finishing them provides valuable in-session rewards that can make the final encounter more manageable. Players can approach both side objectives and the main objective in different ways depending on how they want to play, available vehicles, and how many resources you think you may need for the final objective.

We also introduce a layer of unpredictability by randomly shifting certain objective locations, which helps make repeat playthroughs feel different. If a squad wants to, they can rush directly toward the primary objective, but in our experience the most fun comes from searching the world, hunting for side objectives, discovering rewards, securing better positioning, and really engaging with the environment. That blend of structured goals and free-form decision-making gives each mission its own feel while still supporting replayability and team-based strategies.

"We also introduce a layer of unpredictability by randomly shifting certain objective locations, which helps make repeat playthroughs feel different."

On PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series X, what performance targets are you aiming for in terms of resolution and frame rate? Are there multiple graphics modes planned?

On Xbox Series X, we’re targeting 2160p at 30fps in Quality mode and 2160p at 45fps in Performance mode. On PS5, we’re aiming for 2160p at 30fps in Quality mode and 1440p at 45fps in Performance mode. PS5 Pro targets 2160p at 30fps in Quality mode and 2160p at 45fps in Performance mode. We currently have two graphics modes planned — Quality and Performance — across both platforms.

Xbox Series S continues to be an important part of the ecosystem. What were the biggest technical challenges in scaling the game for Series S, and how did the team approach optimization?

The Xbox Series S is an important platform for Saber, and we fully support it. We’ve already put our proprietary Swarm Engine on the platform in previous titles, so going into Toxic Commando we had valuable experience in understanding how to scale large-scale battles and complex systems to run smoothly within its hardware profile. Our goal was never to compromise the core experience that defines the game, but to ensure that it performs consistently and feels great to play. We’re proud of how Toxic Commando runs across all platforms, including Series S, and we feel confident that players on every system will experience the intensity and scale that make the game special.

How are you leveraging features like the PS5’s SSD and DualSense, or Xbox’s Velocity Architecture, to enhance immersion and loading performance?

At this stage, we haven’t implemented any platform-specific features such as DualSense haptics, adaptive triggers, or Xbox Velocity Architecture.

With next-gen hardware allowing for larger worlds and more systemic complexity, was a version for Switch 2 ever considered? If not, was that primarily due to technical limitations, scope considerations, or platform strategy?

We have not ruled out the Switch 2, we will continue to assess the platform, and make a determination at a later date. We have a great track record with the Switch and we look forward to developing as much as we can on the Switch 2.

"There’s a strong emphasis on cross-class synergy in Toxic Commando."

With four distinct classes, how much ‘cross-class’ synergy is there? Are there specific ability combos that only a full 4-player squad can pull off?

There’s a strong emphasis on cross-class synergy in Toxic Commando. While each of the four classes is viable on its own and can contribute meaningfully in any squad, the system really shines when players coordinate their abilities. We intentionally designed class skills to complement one another. For example, crowd control abilities can set up high-damage plays, defensive tools can create safe zones for objective work, and support mechanics can extend survivability during overwhelming swarms. The goal is to reward coordination and communication without punishing experimentation. When a full squad syncs up and pulls off a coordinated chain of abilities during a chaotic battle, that’s when the system really shines.

Is the player progression (unlocks/upgrades) tied to the individual character, or is there a ‘Meta-Progression’ that benefits the whole squad?

Progression in Toxic Commando is player-based. Your class advancement, unlocks, and weapon upgrades are tied to your individual profile and carry across sessions, so the more you invest in a specific class or loadout, the stronger that character becomes over time. That long-term growth is personal and reflects how you choose to play.

That said, once you’re inside a mission, there are shared elements that encourage squad cooperation. Certain in-session resources, like spare parts can be used to build turrets and defensive structures, that everyone can use. There’s also a resource called “sludgite” that is shared across the group, so it doesn’t matter who picks it up. So while the overarching progression is individual, the moment-to-moment survival and tactical advantages inside a mission are very much a collective effort.

In SnowRunner, getting stuck is the game. In Toxic Commando, if a vehicle gets stuck in the mud during a multiplayer session, how does that shift the team’s priorities? Does it turn into a ‘horde defense’ moment while one player handles the recovery?

You’ve got to get out and push! I’m joking. But the mud can definitely become a problem if you’re not careful. While Toxic Commando isn’t built as a pure vehicle simulation, terrain still matters, and getting bogged down at the wrong moment can be a problem.

Luckily, your main truck is equipped with a winch that can pull you out of sticky situations. Other vehicles aren’t always as forgiving, and if you can’t get your way out quickly, teammates may need to jump out and defend while the driver works to free the vehicle. And in worst-case scenarios, the squad might have to abandon the vehicle altogether and push forward on foot.

What was the inspiration behind Docked being more of a story-based solo game when compared to the popularity of multiplayer in SnowRunner and RoadCraft?

Docked is very different from Saber’s other simulation games. We chose a rather specific setting. Not many gamers know what life is like in a port, so our goal was to introduce people to this industry and captivate them with its unique features.

"Not many gamers know what life is like in a port, so our goal was to introduce people to this industry and captivate them with its unique features."

A recent trailer revealed the 8 port vehicles at launch. Are there plans to add any more down the line?

The eight vehicles represent the machinery most used at real-world docks.. Each vehicle model is recreated in significant detail with unique features and extensive control capabilities. The vehicles’ unique functionality, design, and appearance prevent a cookie-cutter approach to mission development, and mastering their operation requires practice. Looking ahead, I can say that additional vehicles will appear in the DLC. We are currently working on it.

Since Docked will primarily take place in a single location, are there any aspects of the game that will involve traveling to new places?

There are actually three terminals in the game: a container terminal, where most of the tasks take place; a bulk terminal, where the player handles bulk cargo using a mobile port crane and hopper; and a general cargo terminal, where the player works with large objects.

While financial management has been at least a minor aspect in previous games, how big of a role will it play in Docked?

Game progression is based on port management, including financial management, infrastructure construction, and development. This aspect of the game is not the core but it defines the game’s structure and introduces players to the inner workings of port operations.

"Game progression is based on port management, including financial management, infrastructure construction, and development."

Will Port Wake get any visible and gameplay-affecting changes over the course of the game?

At the start of the game, a typhoon has devastated Port Wake. Containers are scattered across the port and the work areas and facilities are damaged. As the game progresses, the player repairs and upgrades buildings, gradually improving the port. First, order is restored, and then new facilities appear, such as yards, parking lots, and offices. As they complete jobs using equipment, the player will see this progression happening throughout the port. Beyond the visual aspect, the new infrastructure offers new economic opportunities as well. At a certain point, the player unlocks a job at a neighboring terminal that specializes in bulk and general cargo. This allows the player to switch to other types of cargo and new equipment.

Since off-roading isn’t an emphasis here, what kinds of new challenges will be available in the vehicle gameplay?

Docked offers a different challenge: precise vehicle control. Performing precise maneuvers with giant machinery is unusual enough, but adding the simultaneous control of the vehicle and cargo manipulation creates a uniquely challenging and rewarding experience., Players must solve tactical puzzles, such as determining how to reach and deliver the desired object without damaging it.

Will players get any say in the overall layout of Port Wake?

Currently, infrastructure objects are preset, so players cannot change the placement of objects. This offered some unique opportunities in the development process, as compared to free planning. Since we know the exact locations of the infrastructure objects in the port, we can introduce a level of realism and detail in the design that wouldn’t have been possible with more variability.

What were some of the lessons learned from RoadCraft that helped with the game design and development of Docked?

It’s difficult to consider Docked a continuation of RoadCraft, as the games were developed by different teams using different engines. However, when developing Docked, we incorporated some of Saber’s technical experience, as well as ideas in RoadCraft, particularly with regard to vehicle physics and bulk material simulation.

"When developing Docked, we incorporated some of Saber’s technical experience, as well as ideas in RoadCraft"

As a developer, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro? How does boost in GPU help in developing your game compared to the base PS5?

The PS5 Pro GPU’s higher performance allows for increased image quality and detail. It renders more objects in the frame and switches levels of detail (LODs) at greater distances, ultimately improving image quality overall.

What are your thoughts on PSSR? What kind of opportunities will this open for the game?

The ability to generate “free” frames has become available, as well as the ability to increase the clarity and resolution of rendered frames. Previously, when embarking on long-term development, developers had to anticipate the availability of hardware at release. Today, technologies like PSSR offset this, allowing developers to ultimately achieve higher frames per second.

What resolution and frame rates will the game target on PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 Pro?

• Xbox Series X 2880×1620 30fps
• Xbox Series S 1920×1080 30fps
• PS5/PS5 Pro 2880×1620 30fps