Heavy Rain Dev Quantic Dream Takes Live Service Gamble with Competitive Multiplayer Game: Spellcasters Chronicles

Quantic Dream, the French studio famous for deeply narrative-driven, single-player titles like Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human, has announced a massive shift in its development focus. The company is branching out into the highly competitive live-service market with a brand new, free-to-play multiplayer game, Spellcasters Chronicles.

The announcement confirms the studio is moving away from its long-held philosophy of being a single-project, story-focused developer, marking its first foray into a genre centered on competition and player-driven action. The move is particularly notable given the studio’s long development timeline for its highly anticipated single-player project.

Spellcasters Chronicles: A Drastic Departure

Spellcasters Chronicles is described as a competitive, team-based 3v3 action strategy game with a fantasy aesthetic. Key details of the project include:

• Genre: Competitive multiplayer, likened to a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) with third-person action elements.
• Format: Free-to-play (F2P) and will launch into a closed beta on Steam before the end of the year.
• Gameplay: Matches are fast-paced (around 25 minutes), tasking teams of three mages to capture altars to gain territory and destroy the opponent’s Lifestones.
• Abilities: Players control “Spellcasters” who can use over 50 spells, summon hundreds of creatures, and use their magic to build defenses and even fly freely to survey the battlefield.

Studio founder David Cage acknowledged the project is a major change, stating on the official blog, “This new title may surprise our fans as it is very different from what we have done so far. But taking risks, challenging ourselves, exploring new ways of playing and telling stories, and attempting what seems impossible, has always been part of our DNA.” He also admitted the studio has “no legacy in this genre,” underscoring the high-risk nature of the venture.

Star Wars: Eclipse Development “Continues”

Crucially, Quantic Dream’s announcement addressed the long-standing questions surrounding its other major project, Star Wars: Eclipse. The multi-character, branching narrative action-adventure game set in the High Republic era was announced in 2021 but has seen little in the way of updates since, leading to widespread speculation about its status.

David Cage offered a brief, but firm, reassurance that the studio remains committed to the Star Wars IP, confirming: “Of course, development of Star Wars: Eclipse continues, and we are eager to share more with you in the future.”

The studio, which was acquired by Chinese tech and gaming giant NetEase in 2022, has doubled its size since 2018. This expansion, along with a move to become a multi-project studio, is what Quantic Dream attributes to its ability to simultaneously work on the multiplayer title alongside the development of Star Wars: Eclipse. The live-service gamble, however, aligns closely with the market strategy of its new parent company, NetEase, a major player in the global multiplayer and mobile space.

For fans of Quantic Dream’s signature single-player experiences, the simultaneous development of a competitive multiplayer title alongside Star Wars: Eclipse marks a significant and unexpected chapter in the studio’s nearly three-decade history.