Developer People Can Fly had a rough start to 2022 in terms of public relations. The studio’s 2021 title Outriders, made in collaboration with Square Enix, has yet to turn a profit despite initial response being mostly positive. Ahead of the game’s Worldslayer expansion set to release next month, many are wondering if this should be the hill that People Can Fly dies on. Luckily, it seems that the studio isn’t putting all of its eggs in one basket, instead plotting out five unique new titles.
The new games in development are described as follows:
- Project Gemini: AAA game around the same scale as Outriders. Square Enix will fully own the IP and publishing rights. Set to release in 2024.
- Project Dagger: AAA action RPG being made for a “wider audience.” The game has a development budget of between 40 and 60 million Euros. Take-Two Interactive will publish the title. Expected in 2023.
- Bifrost: A new self-published and self-funded game. No scheduled release window has been announced.
- Victoria: Early concept phase.
- RED: Early concept phase.
Polish developer People Can Fly is based in Warsaw. Founded in 2002 by Adrian Chmielarz, the co-founder of Metropolis Software, the studio’s first game was Painkiller in 2004. Epic Games acquired a majority share in People Can Fly in 2007, collaborating with the studio on Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgement.
Following the description of the five new games to come, People Can Fly also specified its goals as a company going forward. These include:
• to further develop the Group’s existing IP and create new IP in the course of new game development projects so as to strengthen the Group’s self-publishing potential;
• to continue the business model adopted by the Group, which consists in parallel development of several Triple-A games in partnership with leading global publishers;
• to strengthen the global People Can Fly brand as a leading independent AAA game developer;
• to further enhance its specialization in Triple-A games development in order to position the Group among the world’s top AAA action game developers;
• to further advance the PCF Framework as a vital element underpinning the Group’s competitive advantage in AAA video game development;
• to develop new business lines based on the studio’s brand and the Group’s know-how and IP, including through increased use of Unreal Engine and investments in new segments of the entertainment industry.
