Beamdog, the studio best-known for remastering 90s BioWare classics like Baldur's Gate, has officially revealed its next project, and it's definitely not an RPG. Instead, Beamdog is making MythForce, a first-person roguelite meant to evoke the spirit of Saturday morning cartoons.

Launching into Early Access next week, the new title draws inspiration from 80s animated classics like Dragon's Lair, Thundercats, and He-Man. It is being built in Unreal Engine, with characters who steadily level up and gain new abilities as they explore procedurally-generated maps.

MythForce director Luke Rideout cites Deep Rock Galactics and Vermintide as key influences on the gameplay.

"It's definitely not a Baldur's Gate," Rideout says.

While MythForce is based on the famously goofy cartoons of the 80s, Rideout says that the team wants the tone to be "more cheeky than campy," and is confident that Beamdog has managed to "tow that line pretty well."

It's exemplified in the opening cinematic, which is intended to capture the spirit of the theme songs from that era. Reminiscent of everything from BraveStarr to Silverhawks, it is perhaps the most overtly '80s element of MythForce. Once in game, the four playable characters are in some ways closer to Overwatch or Valorant than Thundercats, though the villains definitely have that He-Man feel to them.

MythForce is a departure for Beamdog, which was originally formed by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster alongside Cameron Tofer in 2009. The studio is mainly responsible for enhanced versions of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape Torment. MythForce, which will be published by Aspyr Media, will be its first original IP.

“I’m beyond excited to finally show off our team’s original work,” Oster said in the official release. “MythForce is pure, unadulterated fun — right out of the Saturday mornings of my childhood. With a simple yet satisfying game loop, it’s a big departure from the RPG classics we’re known for, but the Beamdog DNA is evident if you know where to look.

MythForce is currently being developed for release on PC as an Epic Games Store exclusive. The early access release, due April 20, will feature four heroes and the first episode, titled MythForce Episode 1: Bastion of the Beastlord. Additional episodes will be released as Early Access progresses.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Beamdog, the studio best-known for remastering 90s BioWare classics like Baldur's Gate, has officially revealed its next project, and it's definitely not an RPG. Instead, Beamdog is making MythForce, a first-person roguelite meant to evoke the spirit of Saturday morning cartoons.

Launching into Early Access next week, the new title draws inspiration from 80s animated classics like Dragon's Lair, Thundercats, and He-Man. It is being built in Unreal Engine, with characters who steadily level up and gain new abilities as they explore procedurally-generated maps.

MythForce director Luke Rideout cites Deep Rock Galactics and Vermintide as key influences on the gameplay.

"It's definitely not a Baldur's Gate," Rideout says.

While MythForce is based on the famously goofy cartoons of the 80s, Rideout says that the team wants the tone to be "more cheeky than campy," and is confident that Beamdog has managed to "tow that line pretty well."

It's exemplified in the opening cinematic, which is intended to capture the spirit of the theme songs from that era. Reminiscent of everything from BraveStarr to Silverhawks, it is perhaps the most overtly '80s element of MythForce. Once in game, the four playable characters are in some ways closer to Overwatch or Valorant than Thundercats, though the villains definitely have that He-Man feel to them.

MythForce is a departure for Beamdog, which was originally formed by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster alongside Cameron Tofer in 2009. The studio is mainly responsible for enhanced versions of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape Torment. MythForce, which will be published by Aspyr Media, will be its first original IP.

“I’m beyond excited to finally show off our team’s original work,” Oster said in the official release. “MythForce is pure, unadulterated fun — right out of the Saturday mornings of my childhood. With a simple yet satisfying game loop, it’s a big departure from the RPG classics we’re known for, but the Beamdog DNA is evident if you know where to look.

MythForce is currently being developed for release on PC as an Epic Games Store exclusive. The early access release, due April 20, will feature four heroes and the first episode, titled MythForce Episode 1: Bastion of the Beastlord. Additional episodes will be released as Early Access progresses.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Beamdog, the studio best-known for remastering 90s BioWare classics like Baldur's Gate, has officially revealed its next project, and it's definitely not an RPG. Instead, Beamdog is making MythForce, a first-person roguelite meant to evoke the spirit of Saturday morning cartoons.

Launching into Early Access next week, the new title draws inspiration from 80s animated classics like Dragon's Lair, Thundercats, and He-Man. It is being built in Unreal Engine, with characters who steadily level up and gain new abilities as they explore procedurally-generated maps.

MythForce director Luke Rideout cites Deep Rock Galactics and Vermintide as key influences on the gameplay.

"It's definitely not a Baldur's Gate," Rideout says.

While MythForce is based on the famously goofy cartoons of the 80s, Rideout says that the team wants the tone to be "more cheeky than campy," and is confident that Beamdog has managed to "tow that line pretty well."

It's exemplified in the opening cinematic, which is intended to capture the spirit of the theme songs from that era. Reminiscent of everything from BraveStarr to Silverhawks, it is perhaps the most overtly '80s element of MythForce. Once in game, the four playable characters are in some ways closer to Overwatch or Valorant than Thundercats, though the villains definitely have that He-Man feel to them.

MythForce is a departure for Beamdog, which was originally formed by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster alongside Cameron Tofer in 2009. The studio is mainly responsible for enhanced versions of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape Torment. MythForce, which will be published by Aspyr Media, will be its first original IP.

“I’m beyond excited to finally show off our team’s original work,” Oster said in the official release. “MythForce is pure, unadulterated fun — right out of the Saturday mornings of my childhood. With a simple yet satisfying game loop, it’s a big departure from the RPG classics we’re known for, but the Beamdog DNA is evident if you know where to look.

MythForce is currently being developed for release on PC as an Epic Games Store exclusive. The early access release, due April 20, will feature four heroes and the first episode, titled MythForce Episode 1: Bastion of the Beastlord. Additional episodes will be released as Early Access progresses.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Will The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 launch on an as-yet unrevealed Nintendo console? Some tech experts are theorizing that could be the case based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2's most recent round of footage.

Over on Digital Foundry (first reported by GamesRadar), Richard Leadbetter, John Linneman, and Alex Battaglia dissected the most recent Breath of the Wild 2 footage, pointing out a couple of details that suggest the next big Zelda game might be too big to perform on the current Switch hardware.

"This trailer was interesting because the image quality seemed quite good, I think," Linneman said. "I was a little bit surprised by how sharp and clear this looked compared to the original in general."

Battaglia dove into specifics, saying that the "volumetric clouds" present in the footage would be hard for the current 2017 Switch to pull off, while camera cuts with perfect anti-aliasing are something even the Xbox Series X struggles with.

"It could be the next Switch, it could be just that they rendered out a trailer on higher resolution and higher settings," Battaglia said.

However, the guys were quick to point out that Nintendo generally doesn't release trailers at a higher quality than the final product, with one exception being the draw distance for the original Breath of the Wild.

It's worth noting that the original Breath of the Wild was developed as a Wii U game, so a visual bump can be expected for the sequel, which is currently only slated for Switch. That being said, it wouldn't be the first time a major 3D Zelda title launched across platforms, with Twilight Princess coming to GameCube and Wii, and Breath of the Wild serving as the swan song for Wii U and the killer launch title for Switch.

Switch Pro rumors have been swirling on the internet for years. Still, since the original Switch launched in 2017, Nintendo has not released a more powerful model of the console. The biggest update came with last October's Switch OLED Model, which served as an upgrade for players who primarily use handheld or tabletop mode.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was recently delayed to Spring 2023. When announcing the delay, Zelda Producer Eiji Aounuma said "in order to make this game's experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Will The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 launch on an as-yet unrevealed Nintendo console? Some tech experts are theorizing that could be the case based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2's most recent round of footage.

Over on Digital Foundry (first reported by GamesRadar), Richard Leadbetter, John Linneman, and Alex Battaglia dissected the most recent Breath of the Wild 2 footage, pointing out a couple of details that suggest the next big Zelda game might be too big to perform on the current Switch hardware.

"This trailer was interesting because the image quality seemed quite good, I think," Linneman said. "I was a little bit surprised by how sharp and clear this looked compared to the original in general."

Battaglia dove into specifics, saying that the "volumetric clouds" present in the footage would be hard for the current 2017 Switch to pull off, while camera cuts with perfect anti-aliasing are something even the Xbox Series X struggles with.

"It could be the next Switch, it could be just that they rendered out a trailer on higher resolution and higher settings," Battaglia said.

However, the guys were quick to point out that Nintendo generally doesn't release trailers at a higher quality than the final product, with one exception being the draw distance for the original Breath of the Wild.

It's worth noting that the original Breath of the Wild was developed as a Wii U game, so a visual bump can be expected for the sequel, which is currently only slated for Switch. That being said, it wouldn't be the first time a major 3D Zelda title launched across platforms, with Twilight Princess coming to GameCube and Wii, and Breath of the Wild serving as the swan song for Wii U and the killer launch title for Switch.

Switch Pro rumors have been swirling on the internet for years. Still, since the original Switch launched in 2017, Nintendo has not released a more powerful model of the console. The biggest update came with last October's Switch OLED Model, which served as an upgrade for players who primarily use handheld or tabletop mode.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was recently delayed to Spring 2023. When announcing the delay, Zelda Producer Eiji Aounuma said "in order to make this game's experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Will The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 launch on an as-yet unrevealed Nintendo console? Some tech experts are theorizing that could be the case based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2's most recent round of footage.

Over on Digital Foundry (first reported by GamesRadar), Richard Leadbetter, John Linneman, and Alex Battaglia dissected the most recent Breath of the Wild 2 footage, pointing out a couple of details that suggest the next big Zelda game might be too big to perform on the current Switch hardware.

"This trailer was interesting because the image quality seemed quite good, I think," Linneman said. "I was a little bit surprised by how sharp and clear this looked compared to the original in general."

Battaglia dove into specifics, saying that the "volumetric clouds" present in the footage would be hard for the current 2017 Switch to pull off, while camera cuts with perfect anti-aliasing are something even the Xbox Series X struggles with.

"It could be the next Switch, it could be just that they rendered out a trailer on higher resolution and higher settings," Battaglia said.

However, the guys were quick to point out that Nintendo generally doesn't release trailers at a higher quality than the final product, with one exception being the draw distance for the original Breath of the Wild.

It's worth noting that the original Breath of the Wild was developed as a Wii U game, so a visual bump can be expected for the sequel, which is currently only slated for Switch. That being said, it wouldn't be the first time a major 3D Zelda title launched across platforms, with Twilight Princess coming to GameCube and Wii, and Breath of the Wild serving as the swan song for Wii U and the killer launch title for Switch.

Switch Pro rumors have been swirling on the internet for years. Still, since the original Switch launched in 2017, Nintendo has not released a more powerful model of the console. The biggest update came with last October's Switch OLED Model, which served as an upgrade for players who primarily use handheld or tabletop mode.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was recently delayed to Spring 2023. When announcing the delay, Zelda Producer Eiji Aounuma said "in order to make this game's experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Will The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 launch on an as-yet unrevealed Nintendo console? Some tech experts are theorizing that could be the case based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2's most recent round of footage.

Over on Digital Foundry (first reported by GamesRadar), Richard Leadbetter, John Linneman, and Alex Battaglia dissected the most recent Breath of the Wild 2 footage, pointing out a couple of details that suggest the next big Zelda game might be too big to perform on the current Switch hardware.

"This trailer was interesting because the image quality seemed quite good, I think," Linneman said. "I was a little bit surprised by how sharp and clear this looked compared to the original in general."

Battaglia dove into specifics, saying that the "volumetric clouds" present in the footage would be hard for the current 2017 Switch to pull off, while camera cuts with perfect anti-aliasing are something even the Xbox Series X struggles with.

"It could be the next Switch, it could be just that they rendered out a trailer on higher resolution and higher settings," Battaglia said.

However, the guys were quick to point out that Nintendo generally doesn't release trailers at a higher quality than the final product, with one exception being the draw distance for the original Breath of the Wild.

It's worth noting that the original Breath of the Wild was developed as a Wii U game, so a visual bump can be expected for the sequel, which is currently only slated for Switch. That being said, it wouldn't be the first time a major 3D Zelda title launched across platforms, with Twilight Princess coming to GameCube and Wii, and Breath of the Wild serving as the swan song for Wii U and the killer launch title for Switch.

Switch Pro rumors have been swirling on the internet for years. Still, since the original Switch launched in 2017, Nintendo has not released a more powerful model of the console. The biggest update came with last October's Switch OLED Model, which served as an upgrade for players who primarily use handheld or tabletop mode.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was recently delayed to Spring 2023. When announcing the delay, Zelda Producer Eiji Aounuma said "in order to make this game's experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Despite numerous hints over the years that he might be slipping into something that looked like retirement, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi appears to be far from done making games.

In an interview with IGN, Sakaguchi confirmed that he's been approached with one or two offers for new projects that he's currently considering... in between sessions of Final Fantasy 14.

"They're still in the planning stages, where we're deciding on how the business will work and putting together contracts, so it's not as if we've started on actual development, but I do think I'll be working on something," he said. "Of course, the more concrete those plans start to look, the more I feel like I need to play FF14 while I still can."

Sakaguchi has been spending a lot of time gaming lately, especially Final Fantasy 14, though he added in the same interview that he isn't interested in getting involved with its development and doesn't want to learn any inside information about it, for fear it would ruin his experience as a player and ability to connect with the FF14 community.

But he's playing other games, too, trying to get in as much gaming time as possible before he dives into a new project of his own.

"When I'm really involved in making a game, though, I have surprisingly little time for anything else," he said. "I play games once I'm done making one. I played Ghost of Tsushima because the timing was just right. Once I start on a new game, I feel like playing whatever's new when I finish… but that's why I at least want to play through Horizon Forbidden West before starting on my next game."

Our full interview with Sakaguchi included discussion of his experience in Final Fantasy 14 up to now, and his insights on the game from the perspetive of someone who created the franchise but hasn't been involved in the MMORPG's creation at all.

We've also previously spoken to Sakaguchi about his most recent release, Fantasian, and how it was inspired by Final Fantasy 6 and his love for his family.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Despite numerous hints over the years that he might be slipping into something that looked like retirement, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi appears to be far from done making games.

In an interview with IGN, Sakaguchi confirmed that he's been approached with one or two offers for new projects that he's currently considering... in between sessions of Final Fantasy 14.

"They're still in the planning stages, where we're deciding on how the business will work and putting together contracts, so it's not as if we've started on actual development, but I do think I'll be working on something," he said. "Of course, the more concrete those plans start to look, the more I feel like I need to play FF14 while I still can."

Sakaguchi has been spending a lot of time gaming lately, especially Final Fantasy 14, though he added in the same interview that he isn't interested in getting involved with its development and doesn't want to learn any inside information about it, for fear it would ruin his experience as a player and ability to connect with the FF14 community.

But he's playing other games, too, trying to get in as much gaming time as possible before he dives into a new project of his own.

"When I'm really involved in making a game, though, I have surprisingly little time for anything else," he said. "I play games once I'm done making one. I played Ghost of Tsushima because the timing was just right. Once I start on a new game, I feel like playing whatever's new when I finish… but that's why I at least want to play through Horizon Forbidden West before starting on my next game."

Our full interview with Sakaguchi included discussion of his experience in Final Fantasy 14 up to now, and his insights on the game from the perspetive of someone who created the franchise but hasn't been involved in the MMORPG's creation at all.

We've also previously spoken to Sakaguchi about his most recent release, Fantasian, and how it was inspired by Final Fantasy 6 and his love for his family.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Despite numerous hints over the years that he might be slipping into something that looked like retirement, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi appears to be far from done making games.

In an interview with IGN, Sakaguchi confirmed that he's been approached with one or two offers for new projects that he's currently considering... in between sessions of Final Fantasy 14.

"They're still in the planning stages, where we're deciding on how the business will work and putting together contracts, so it's not as if we've started on actual development, but I do think I'll be working on something," he said. "Of course, the more concrete those plans start to look, the more I feel like I need to play FF14 while I still can."

Sakaguchi has been spending a lot of time gaming lately, especially Final Fantasy 14, though he added in the same interview that he isn't interested in getting involved with its development and doesn't want to learn any inside information about it, for fear it would ruin his experience as a player and ability to connect with the FF14 community.

But he's playing other games, too, trying to get in as much gaming time as possible before he dives into a new project of his own.

"When I'm really involved in making a game, though, I have surprisingly little time for anything else," he said. "I play games once I'm done making one. I played Ghost of Tsushima because the timing was just right. Once I start on a new game, I feel like playing whatever's new when I finish… but that's why I at least want to play through Horizon Forbidden West before starting on my next game."

Our full interview with Sakaguchi included discussion of his experience in Final Fantasy 14 up to now, and his insights on the game from the perspetive of someone who created the franchise but hasn't been involved in the MMORPG's creation at all.

We've also previously spoken to Sakaguchi about his most recent release, Fantasian, and how it was inspired by Final Fantasy 6 and his love for his family.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.