Supermassive Games knows a thing or two about immersive horror titles, but a new job listing on the studio’s careers page may signal a switch-up. The company has already mentioned that multiple games are currently in development, and this one doesn’t seem like anything to do with The Dark Pictures Anthology.
The studio is looking for a multiplayer game designer, specifically one with experience developing combat systems, multiplayer rules, tutorial systems, and progression. The listing in question states that the winning applicant “will collaborate with design, engineering, art and animation teams to create varied and compelling Multiplayer systems, from combat to progression systems.”
This puts emphasis on things that Supermassive isn’t particularly known for, so it’s anyone guess what could possibly be in the works. Known primarily for more narrative single-player horror titles, the listing does stress that the proper candidate should have a passion for “high-end cinematic games.” Something story-driven is likely, but it’s interesting to see how much emphasis is being placed on more complex multiplayer components.
Based in Guildford, Surrey, the British game developer was founded in 2008 by Pete Samuels, who previously worked at Electronic Arts and Psygnosis. Supermassive’s breakout title, Until Dawn, was an unexpected success for Sony upon release in 2015, with spin-off titles following soon after. Partnering with Bandai Namco for the first entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology in 2019, Supermassive has continued to stick to what it knows best–absolutely scaring the pants off of players. It would be nice to see them step out of their comfort zone, but only time will tell.
Supermassive released The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes on October 22, 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Eight titles are planned in the series, with the season one finale titled The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me. While a teaser trailer has been released for the latter, no release date has been finalized.