In a surprise and frankly brilliant twist at the end of yesterday’s THQ Nordic Digital Showcase, it was revealed that a brand new South Park game is in the works. The teaser, which could’ve very easily been missed given that it came right at the end of the showcase event, revealed that THQ Nordic has at least 26 games left to announce, on top of those already shown during the event.
In a clever bit of editing though, the screen displaying the number 26 then had its digits scribbled out. Shortly afterwards, a frame faded into view that displayed the South Park Digital Studios logo on it. Following this, the screen returned to the written ‘thank you for watching’ screen from before, with the scribbled-out number 26 being replaced by the number 25. This indicates clearly that one of the “still unannounced” games is a game that’s being developed by South Park Digital Studios.
While there’s nothing but the black screen and studio logo displayed in the teaser, the clip is accompanied by some hilarious and telling sound effects. In the background, fans can hear the voice of what sounds like Stan’s dad Randy Marsh saying “hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!” repeatedly, then groaning out “oh, it’s coming!” before the logo fades away again.
It’s a blink and you’ll miss it kind of moment, but it does give fans of the South Park universe something exciting to look forward to. As of yet, no further information has been shared on what kind of game the new South Park title will be, but it could be a totally new entry into the much-loved franchise. While it may have links to previous South Park games such as South Park: The Fractured But Whole or South Park: The Stick Of Truth, it could be more likely to expect an entirely new standalone game given that South Park Digital Studios are working with THQ Nordic as a brand new publisher. While those games were published by Ubisoft, it appears that THQ Nordic are firmly back in the publishing saddle for this new game, so it’ll be exciting to see what manifests next from the partnership.
THQ Nordic also revealed that it’s going to be launching another game based on a beloved cartoon IP during the showcase. However, this one won’t be so close to the mark in terms of mature themes, as SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is definitely going to be a bit more family-friendly than South Park. It certainly looks as though 2022 and 2023 will be packed full of awesome games coming out of THQ Nordic, so we’ll be keeping an eye on the news for any further developments on the as-yet-unannounced new South Park title.