1C Game Studios announced “War of the Worlds: Siberia” in the fall of 2023. Then a short cinematic video appeared on YouTube that didn’t really reveal anything. Since then, the developers have continued to work quietly, but recently they gathered journalists at the MN Ermolova Theater and finally shared the news. What has been known about the game?
Who is making War of the Worlds: Siberia?
1C Game Studios has existed since 2012. The company was mainly involved in the development and support of the IL-2 Sturmovik. Updates for the flight simulator are still being released. Rumors continue to circulate about a full sequel, which is secretly being worked on.
The developer portfolio also includes the free “Caliber” shooting session. It did not gain much popularity and was generally released at the wrong time, so they even refused to release the game on Xbox consoles: the company’s director, Albert Zhiltsov, said that he had a refusal from Microsoft on his hands. . Sony and Nintendo seem, by and large, unable to achieve this.
In addition to War of the Worlds: Siberia, the team is launching the Tales of Old Rus franchise: the first game will be the card-based roguelike Immortal. There, heroes like Vasilisa will fight with kikimoras and other Slavic evil spirits. 1C Game Studios has big plans for the franchise: one day there is a chance to have a great RPG in the spirit of The Witcher.
The heroes will explore forests, towns and cities.
Photo: 1C Game Studios
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What is War of the Worlds: Siberia about?
Do you remember the cult science fiction novel by HG Wells “The War of the Worlds”, where the Martians attacked England? The Russian game develops this idea, but moves the events to Siberia. The aliens landed there in 1896 and caused a great massacre.
The Siberians, who had sabers, powder pistols and a Maxim machine gun in their arsenal, were unable to repel the invaders; In the end, they only had to survive. The game is dedicated to the survival of ordinary people in the apocalypse. At the same time, you should fear not only aliens, but also yesterday’s comrades: to save their own skin, they are ready to kill and betray.
The game promises a lot of dialogue and an entire hour of cinematic videos. The developers hope that this will be enough to tell a dramatic story for adults.
The game will feature fictional cities, but Siberians will find something familiar in them.
Photo: 1C Game Studios
The main actors of “The War of the Worlds: Siberia.”
It is not in vain that the event was held at the Ermolova Theater. It turns out that the company has signed a collaboration agreement with this theater, according to which stage workers will play key roles in the game. Director Ilya Brovkin spent a lot of time selecting unsuitable candidates and finally assembled a strong cast. There are no big stars in it, just “young actors with bright eyes.”
An interesting video with the actors of “War of the Worlds” has already been uploaded to the Internet, capturing their movements and comments from the game’s creators.
The video is available on the 1C Game Studios YouTube channel. The rights to the video belong to 1C Game Studios.
Gameplay “Wars of the worlds: Siberia”
The developers understand that they don’t have all the money in the world to create an open world and revolutionary mechanics. That’s why they make a classic linear action movie with elements of a road movie. The heroes explore Siberian cities, fight enemies, solve space puzzles, and then go to the next level.
The gameplay is familiar. The player can defeat the enemy with melee weapons, shoot them, or eliminate them silently. At the same time, most battles seem avoidable. After all, the game is about survival, and the best way to survive is not to fight, but to avoid the dangerous place. However, there is no way to escape the boss fights, the presence of which has been confirmed.
It looks like everything will be fine with the layout of the location.
Photo: 1C Game Studios
The engine chosen was Unity. According to Albert Zhiltsov, the team spent a lot of time choosing between Unity and Unreal Engine, and even consulted with Western experts. No engine solved all the problems; In any case, it was necessary to adapt the technology to suit them. In the end, we chose Unity because it runs Caliber, the studio’s previous game.
It is important to note that the developers consciously avoid hasty promises and comparisons with hits like Uncharted, A Plague Tale or Alan Wake. Albert Zhiltsov says that he takes into account the recent mistakes of his colleagues and does not want to create high expectations.
This is a clear allusion to the situation with “The Troubles”, whose authors called the battle of “The Witcher 3” monstrous.
Developers are confident that Unity is right for them
Photo: 1C Game Studios
War of the Worlds: Siberia release date
They didn’t even give an approximate release date. They promise to return to this conversation in 2025. But before the end of 2024, they promise to hold an event at which the press will personally evaluate the initial construction.
Platforms “War of the Worlds: Siberia”
1C Game Studios dreams of releasing War of the Worlds on all the right platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, and possibly Nintendo’s next device. But now they can guarantee the release only on PC on VK Play. Maybe the game is available on Steam.
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Official description of War of the Worlds: Siberia
War of the Worlds: Siberia is an action-adventure game inspired by the classic fantasy novel by HG Wells.
According to the plot, in an alternate year, 1896, Earth was subjected to a massive invasion of Martians. The game “War of the Worlds: Siberia” takes place in Russia, where several heroes, saving their lives, flee from Petrograd, in panic, further east of the Empire.
• An action-adventure adventure with a third-person view. • The unique and unique flavor of “Russia, which we lost” under the yoke of alien invaders. • A deeply developed plot and memorable characters – classic types of the history of the Russian Empire of the late 19th century. • Shootings with dozens of types of weapons: from percussion rifles and black powder pistols to Maxim machine guns. • Stealth elements and space puzzles.
