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Seven game industry veterans who established Ruckus Games in 2021 have revealed their first project. The studio shared early screenshots of its untitled co-op multiplayer game featuring suburban invasion scenarios, and stated that playtesting is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
Paul Sage, former creative director of Borderlands 3 and The Elder Scrolls Online, leads the studio as CEO and game director, and the founding team includes developers from Gearbox, Riot Games, Blizzard, Epic Games, and Monolith.
The team recently secured $19 million in funding when, "the investors were sold on Ruckus' premiere project after playing a mere 20 minutes of its vertical slice demo" - a prototype made by 14 people in 12 months, according to the announcement.
The studio's debut title supports four-player co-operative play in what it describes as an evolving American heartland setting. Players use makeshift weapons, with the game featuring "thousands of unique make-shift weapon combinations," including modified household items like toasters and power washers, while rescuing NPCs and collecting resources.
Art director Scott Kester, known for developing Borderlands' distinctive graphic novel aesthetic, oversees the game's visual direction. According to the announcement, the game's "eye-catching art style belies some darker moments as you get pulled into a deep world that balances fun and humor with darkness and peril."
"We want games where people have fun from the get-go," Sage said. "Games that are physical, joyous, and just a damn good time to be shared with others."
