It's been quite a while since we've heard much about Quantic Dream's Star Wars: Eclipse. The studio revealed that project at The Game Awards back in 2021 and details have been scarce since then. As it turns out, the developer of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human had been working on a second game this whole time. It's one that sees Quantic Dream venturing into entirely new territory, because the studio is making its first multiplayer game.
Spellcasters Chronicles is a 3 vs. 3 MOBA with a third-person perspective that's akin to Marvel Rivals. Each round lasts 25 minutes, with teams summoning minions, battling to conquer territory and earning victory by destroying their opponents' lifestones. So far, so typical MOBA. But Quantic Dream has a few tricks up its sleeve that it hopes will help make Spellcasters Chronicles stand out in a highly competitive live-service market.
It's a magic-based MOBA with characters that have unique abilities, personalities and backstories. Every one of these mages has the ability to fly at any time and for as long as they want. So you can freely take to the skies to get a bird's eye view of the battlefield and help you make decisions about what to do next. You can duke it out with enemies in the air too.
Along with attacks, support spells and summoning armies with hundreds of creatures, players can use their magic to plunk down buildings and shore up their defenses while altering the environment. There's interplay between characters too, as you can infuse allies (including summoned creatures) with spells. One mage, for instance, might add fire to a tankier teammate's hammer, so there are synergies to discover. "Something we wanted to push is the sense of creativity," game director Greg Diaconu told reporters ahead of the reveal.
Eventually, you'll be able to bring giant, game-changing titans into battles. Each player can summon one. Whenever a titan appears, it's an all-hands-on-deck situation for the opposing team, since these are powerful creatures that can completely change the course of a round.
"It was important for us to create a sense of spectacle," Diaconu said. "Something that's as fun to watch as it is to play."
It all seems quite action-packed, but there's a heavy strategic element to Spellcasters Chronicles as well. Before you go into a battle, you'll select your spells and summons, including your titan — so this is a deckbuilder game too. In the thick of the action, your team will need to decide when to pressure the map and try to expand your territory while capturing altars of power, totems that will grant you resources. Speaking of which, each spell has a limited number of uses, so resource management is a factor too.
Spellcasters Chronicles is free-to-play, but there are no pay-to-win concerns here. In-game purchases will be purely cosmetic. Expect battle passes full of new looks for the characters. Lots of updates are in the pipeline too, including new mages, spells and creatures.
Seven years in the oven
Quantic Dream started making Spellcasters Chronicles seven years ago (so before Netease bought a stake of the company and eventually the whole shebang). Although the studio decided to keep making narrative-driven single-player games after Detroit: Become Human, it wanted to try something new as well. The idea was to take the team's experience of working on interactive storytelling to a different genre by creating a multiplayer game with a stylized look.
"Multiple teams are fully dedicated to crafting the next generation of great games, including something very different, a competitive multiplayer experience, born from the same spirit of curiosity and creativity that has always defined us," Quantic Dream founder David Cage wrote in a blog post on Thursday. "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."
In the world of Spellcasters Chronicles, gods are no more and mages who are able to harness an energy called the Source will shape the future. Quantic Dream hasn't shared too many details about the plot and characters of Spellcasters Chronicles just yet — the reveal focused on gameplay. That's perhaps in part because the studio is leaning into a community-driven narrative approach. Victories and defeats will contribute "to the evolving Tapestry of Fate, where seasonal decisions will change gameplay, lore and map meta."
We shouldn't have to wait too long to see how all of that works in practice. Quantic Dream will run a closed beta for Spellcasters Chronicles on Steam later this year, and the game is set to hit consoles with cross-play support in 2026. Those who are attending TwitchCon San Diego this week can try out the MOBA there.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/for-its-next-trick-quantic-dream-is-trying-to-compete-with-league-of-legends-and-dota-150000283.html?src=rss
