CI Games first teased Lords of the Fallen 2 well over five years ago in late 2014. Since then, the title has been stuck in somewhat of a development hell, hopping from one studio to another. Perhaps the third time’s a charm, though? The publisher/developer has announced the opening of a brand-new development house, Hexworks. This new team, based out of Barcelona and Bucharest, is currently working on its debut title–Lords of the Fallen 2. The sequel still lacks a launch date, but is in production for next-gen consoles and PC.
Hexworks’ Barcelona team opened shop earlier this year in March. The crew at Bucharest began working a few weeks thereafter, CI Games divulged in a blog post. CI Games’ post further notes that 25 veteran staff members call Hexworks home, all of whom have “AAA game development experience.” Creative Director Cezar Virtosu and Executive Producer Saul Gascon are the two industry veterans leading the charge. However, Hexworks isn’t being run like other AAA studios. The developer is instead emphasizing more of an “indie approach.”
With regards to Lords of the Fallen 2, fans should anticipate a bit of a departure from the nascent franchise’s first entry. First and foremost, the sequel represents “a shift from the original’s power fantasy to a dark fantasy.” In addition, Hexworks intends to create a project that more closely adheres to combat challenges in Soulslike experiences.
Hexworks’ founding is helping to usher in other changes for CI Games. The publisher will most notably focus more effort on its own intellectual properties. According to CI Games’ statement, such a shift is being stimulated by an investment of €5.7 million received from investors last week.
Several months after Lords of the Fallen 2’s 2014 tease, CI Games shared plans to launch the follow-up in 2017. At the time, the company could only confirm that Deck13, the first title’s co-developer, wouldn’t return for the sequel.
A series of other major changes followed in subsequent years. The Executive Producer and Creative Director exited the project in 2015. The small team attached to Lords of the Fallen 2 was replaced by Defiant Studios in summer 2018. CI Games removed Defiant from the venture in 2019, citing low quality work as a cause for separation. Hopefully, Hexworks has better luck in delivering the long-awaited sequel.
[Source: CI Games]
