One of the most exciting bits of indie news from E3 so far is the announcement that a few veterans of Journey developer Thatgamecompany are releasing a new game.
The team, under the banner of new studio Giant Squid, was formed by the man behind the stunning visuals of one of the most beloved and moving games of all time, Matt Nava.
The game – trailer shown above – is called Abzu and is set a beautiful underwater world that borrows much of the angular style of Journey but is still strikingly unique.
“We are hard at work on ABZÛ, which has already been in active development for about a year,” Nava said in a press release.
“I am very lucky to be collaborating with a team of extremely talented developers who aren’t satisfied unless we are innovating at every step of our process. Our goal is to create unique, meaningful experiences that resonate with players on a deep level.”
“When we pitched our game concept to 505, it was immediately obvious that they got it. They have respect for us as a team of creative developers and actively go out of their way to ensure that our artistic freedom is undeterred. Partnering with 505 made total sense for Giant Squid and I am truly excited to work with them on our first title.”
While Thatgamecompany has moved on in search of greater freedom, Giant Squid and publisher 505 Games have agreed to launch Abzu on the PS4 and PC – a move that isn’t likely to be taken well at Microsoft, which is struggling to find favor with some of the biggest indie developers of the previous console generation.
The press release didn’t include any extra details about actual gameplay, but it did break the important news that ABZU is set for a 2016 release date
