Another year is nearly in the books, and with it another year of great and interesting offerings from a slew of developers. Some, however, kept their head down in order to hone and refine their current projects, leaving us all the more hungry for what they have in store for gaming. To that end, these are 10 developers we want to see more from in 2020.
Sucker Punch Productions
While some of Sony’s development teams released games in 2019 – or at the very least put out detailed trailers for their upcoming projects – Sucker Punch Productions has quietly toiled away on Ghosts of Tsushima.
Save for a few teasers of its continued development and the promise of a new trailer at the 2019 Game Awards, they’ve focused all of their energy on honing the feudal Japanese action title to perfection.
All the while, they’ve largely kept their work away from the eyes of the public until the time is right to unveil it in earnest, resulting in them staying off of most people’s radar for the majority of the last year.
It’s still anyone’s guess as to how soon Ghosts of Tsushima will release, especially with a new console generation on the horizon in the form of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlet.
And yet, that only serves to stoke our anticipation for seeing exactly what Sucker Punch has put so much time and effort into. Even if it’s only one more trailer than usual, seeing more of the studio’s work would be plenty enough to keep people hyped up for their game.
Playground Games
While it’s usually not a good idea to put one’s hopes behind rumors and speculation, the buzz around what Playground Games‘ next project might be is enough to get anyone’s hopes built up.
Best known as the developers behind the Forza franchise, Playground has been hard at work on an unannounced open world action RPG project since 2017. They were later acquired by Microsoft in 2018, and have since continued work on the project with the full backing of the publisher.
This has led many to believe that the studio may be working on a new entry in the Fable franchise. It wouldn’t be the strangest move either, given the continued popularity of the series even in the many years since its last installment and Microsoft’s preparations for the release of a new console.
Even if it’s not though, people are still eager to see what Playground has up their sleeve. It’s not every day developers stray from their wheelhouse and preferred genre the way Playground has, and many a gamer can’t wait to see exactly how they’re planning to rebrand themselves as soon as possible.
Retro Studios
To be fair, it may be a bit of a pipe dream to expect anything from Retro Games so soon after they’ve taken up the reigns on their latest project.
After a disastrous development period wherein the long awaited Metroid Prime 4 was under development by multiple studios, Nintendo announced that everything made for the game so far would be scrapped. The game’s development was then shifted over to Retro, with the intent of it being made again from scratch.
Retro has since been hard at work on the game, with no trailers or teasers released for the project since they took over.
To be fair, this is understandable. Instead of fixing and adjusting what was already there, they’re building the game fro scratch with their own vision.
All the same, an update on the state of the project would do wonders for keeping people hyped up for the next installment in the lauded franchise, and keep people hopeful that Retro can get the series back on track.
Tango Gameworks
While not the biggest of developers out there, Tango Gameworks remains a studio many people want to hear more from as soon as possible.
Responsible for the survival horror franchise The Evil Within and heded by gaming industry legend Shinji Mikami, the Bethesda-owned team made a splash at E3 2019 with the reveal of GhostWire Tokyo, a new IP wherein supernatural events are plaguing the city and causing the disappearance of its citizens.
However, not much has been revealed since then. The only real news out of the studio was that Ikumi Nakamura, the creative director behind the project, had left the company. As a result, most are still in the dark about what the game will be like, when it will release and – most importantly – why they should keep it in mind.
Even if it isn’t until later in the year, seeing more of what the game has to offer or at least getting an update on its progress would do wonders for the developer’s visibility. Plus, given the ever-more crowded release schedule of 2020, it could help them stand out from the pack and ensure their new IP makes as big of an impact on the gaming community as possible.
Naughty Dog
Admittedly, saying people want to see more from Naughty Dog is kind of a moot point.
Since 2014, the company has been working on The Last of Us Part II, the follow-up to their smash-hit new IP, in some way, shape or form.
The game became the company’s sole focus since the release of Uncharted 4 in 2016, and since then they’ve been plugging away at it with all they can muster. As a result though, Naughty Dog has faded in and out of the public spotlight, only reappearing when they had some teaser footage of the game ready to be unveiled.
Now though, the game is finally set for release on May 29, 2020, and fans are hungry for whatever news, teasers and announcements the developers have to offer; which, after waiting so long for the game, is understandable.
As such, it’s high time Naughty Dog put on a full court press with a steady stream of teasers, developer diaries and whatever else they’ve got to get people hyped to a fever pitch; or, at least, even more hyped than they already are.
Level-5
While many other Japanese developers AAA or otherwise had more than a few big releases this year, Level-5 seemed to be keeping its head down.
Granted, they did pop up here and there. DLC for Ni No Kuni 2 was released early on in the year, Yokai Watch 4 was released to general acclaim, and a new mobile game centered around the Ni No Kuni series was announced to be in development.
Aside from that though, there was no news on any big games they had in development for consoles, JRPG or otherwise.
While it would be understandable that they’d want to focus their efforts on the development of their smaller projects, it would be awesome to hear about any new console games they have in the works.
Even if they’re a ways off from release, it would do wonders to know the acclaimed developer still has something in store for its fans and keep them eager for their next announcements.
Monolith Soft
If any of the developers in Nintendo’s stable of studios could be called hot commodities, Monolith Soft would be an easy favorite.
In the years since their acquisition by Nintendo, the studio has maintained their spot in the pantheon of JRPG developers with the Xenoblade Chronicles series. Many have applauded their skill in crafting vast and imaginative worlds, and in regards to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 were impressed by their application of new gameplay mechanics.
However, not a lot has been said of them in the past year. Aside from the news that they were staffing up to assist in the development of a Legend of Zelda game and that they’d opened a new studio in Osaki, no news of what new projects they might be working on was revealed to the public.
Especially given the looming release of Sony and Microsoft’s new consoles, it would be awesome for Switch owners to know the studio has something in the works.
A trailer, teaser or even a confirmation that they’re working on something would keep support for Nintendo strong, and keep people eager to see what Monolith intends to use to keep its hot streak going.
343 Industries
Like with Naughty Dog, people know exactly what 343 Industries has been hard at work on for the past few years. Seeing it, however, has been a different matter.
During Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference, it was revealed that 343 were hard at work on Halo Infinite, the latest entry in the iconic series. in the months that followed, scant details were revealed about the game, culminating in a new trailer shown at this year’s E3 alongside the reveal that it would launch alongside the next Xbox console.
It was plenty enough to get fans hyped up for the studio’s next offering, and to amp up their anticipation for the next console generation. However, it also poses a challenge that 343 needs to meet in the coming year.
Instead of relying on the steady stream of teasers like they have for the past year, it would be ideal for them to start showing off more of what their game will have to offer.
It doesn’t need to be extensive – just some trailers or some info on how the development process has been on the game – and in the end, it’ll go a long way toward keeping them relevant going into the launch of the next generation of consoles.
Ghost Story Games
Amid all of the excitement over the next Bioshock being in development, one question has lingered without an answer: What is Ghost Story Games, a studio comprised of Bioshock’s original developers, up to?
Headed by industry icon Ken Levine, little is known about what the studio is working on or when its first title will be released. This has remained the case for a while too, with nary a sound out of them since their founding in 2017.
This past year was no exception, with no reveals, announcements or teasers made about what the studio might have in store. Especially with Bioshock confirmed to be completely out of their hands, it’s made it all the more pressing for many, ourselves included, to wonder what’s around the corner.
To that end, they’re one of the studios that most any gamer would love to see more from in 2020. Even the slightest hint of an announcement stands to make waves throughout the community, and to rekindle the fires of excitement in anyone who may have lost interest in them during their hiatus from public appearances.
Rocksteady Studios
If anyone stands to make a splash in 2020, it’s Rocksteady Studios.
The developers behind the widely acclaimed Batman Arkham series, Rocksteady has been quiet since the release of Batman Arkham Knight.
Or at least, as quiet as they could be: Shortly before the 2018 game awards, there was buzz that they were working on a Superman game, which they quickly confirmed was false.
Then, earlier this year, rumors were abound of a new Arkham game, culminating in the speculation that it would be shown off at the 2019 game awards.
Nothing, however, has been confirmed at this time by Rocksteady, making it a gamble that they’ll be present at the awards show at all.
All the same, it all goes to show just how hotly anticipated their next work is, and how much of a slam dunk it would be if they showed what they’re working on in the coming year. Even the slightest confirmation of what their next project is would go a long way, and could make them the talk of the industry well into 2021.
Published: Dec 11, 2019 12:07 pm