It’s early days yet for inXile Entertainment’s next RPG, which is currently in the “infancy” of pre-production. The developer confirmed that it will be using Unreal Engine 5 but some new job listings have indicated this to be an action RPG. More specifically, a listing for lead gameplay engineer indicates that they will “Architect, implement, and support first person shooter gameplay features” for this “next-generation action role-playing game.”
Another listing for senior gameplay designer also states that they will “team up with the creatives from across the development team, designing and implementing gameplay systems such as powerful, tactile first-person weapons and unique combat abilities that draw the player right into the middle of the action.” A required skill is the ability to “Understand the moment-to-moment gameplay loops of first-person shooters and RPGs and what makes those genres fun.”
inXile’s experience with Wasteland 3, which is the closest one will get to a contemporary version of classic Fallout RPGs, indicates that it could be working on a similar project but in first-person. Perhaps Fallout: New Vegas 2, as expectations are wont to gravitate to. Unfortunately, a listing for art director states that this is “a rare opportunity to help bring an extraordinary new world to life.” This seems to indicate that the RPG will be a brand new IP, though it could easily be a new setting in an established franchise.
The developer’s last “first-person” experience was The Bard’s Tale 4: Barrows Deep, which was a dungeon crawler and had its fair share of issues (with The Director’s Cut adding several improvements). This seems to be more action-oriented though so we’ll hold out for more information before setting expectations. In the meantime, check out our review for Wasteland 3 here.
