Former CD Projekt Red developer Jakub Ben has formed a new studio called Dark Passenger. The studio’s staff has worked on cinematics for games such as Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077.
Ben is a co-founder of Dark Passenger, along with Pawel Kuleta as the COO and Magdalena Furman as a 3D character animator. Currently, the studio is looking to hire for many roles including gameplay programmer, tech artist, environmental artist, and sound designer.
The studio’s first game is a multiplayer online game set in Feudal Japan one built using Unreal Engine 5 that includes co-op, PVP, and PVE. It tells the story of an invader that overthrew the ruling shogun and established a new throne.
WE'RE HIRING.#gamedev #gamedeveloper #multiplayer #coop #pvp #pve #UE5 #unrealengine5 #FPP #hiring #job #jobs #rekrutacja #praca #work #job #programista #animator #techart #animation #sfx #3ddesigner #environmentart #characterart #programmer #polishgamedev #gry #grysieciowe pic.twitter.com/vj32X4u7Rg
— Dark Passenger (@DPassenger_) July 25, 2022
“Our goal is to create highly exciting online games that focus on both cooperation and competition. We are fascinated by human interactions, alliances, daring confrontations, and unexpected twists,” says Dark Passenger on its website.
“To make each game unique and surprising, we use many procedural solutions. Although all players will have the same goal, each time it will require changing tactics and moving different paths.”
According to the studio's website, Players assume the role of shinobi and kunoichi where they will face the ruler’s underlings and other assassins as they search for powerful mysterious artifacts. Players have multiple ways to traverse the land, such as running on city rooftops, climbing pagodas, and sneaking through shrines and temples. There will also be various social classes for characters, all the way from simple villagers to high nobles and samurai.
There is a character customization system where players can create their own unique characters and modify their equipment. Various weapons including katanas, tanto, and shurikens will be available. Players can also build their own dojo and invite their friends to train together.
Dark Passenger follows several other new studios formed by former CDPR developers including Rebel Wolves, formed by former Cyberpunk 2077 co-director, and Covenant, which announced a dark strategy game called Gord.
No release window for this game has been revealed for Dark Passenger's new game, but the official website lists that it will come to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey