Summary
Stray Kite Studios, a team of industry veterans with experience on titles like BioShock, Borderlands, and Age of Empires, has announced Wartorn, their first original game. This real-time strategy roguelite, launching in early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store in Spring 2025, features destructible environments, challenging moral choices, and a striking painterly art style.
Wartorn is the culmination of years of experience from the Dallas-based studio, founded in 2018 and boasting approximately 30 employees. Prior to Wartorn, Stray Kite Studios developed the standalone version of Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure and numerous creative maps for Fortnite.
This new title follows two elven sisters on a perilous journey to reunite with their family. Their quest will be fraught with difficult battles and morally ambiguous decisions, shaping their path through a deeply divided and chaotic world.
Wartorn's Chaotic Gameplay
Wartorn's chaotic nature extends beyond its narrative. The game features physics-driven environmental destruction, ensuring no two playthroughs are identical. This dynamic element, combined with tough choices and a flexible magic system, creates a unique and replayable experience. The core theme explores finding purpose amidst chaos, as co-founder and creative director Paul Hellquist explains: "We’ve poured our hearts into creating a game that not only entertains but also makes players think deeply about sacrifice, survival, and the bonds that unite us."
Difficult Choices and Strategic Combat
Between battles, players face difficult choices, such as deciding who to save or feed, impacting the narrative and shaping each playthrough. Combat is equally strategic, featuring a magic system that allows players to creatively combine elemental forces (fire, water, lightning) for diverse tactical applications. Spells interact uniquely with each other and the environment, adding another layer of depth to the gameplay.
We’ve poured our hearts into creating a game that not only entertains but also makes players think deeply about sacrifice, survival, and the bonds that unite us.
Wartorn's roguelite elements include persistent upgrades between runs, easing subsequent attempts. The painterly art style enhances the game's dramatic setting, while an adjustable slow-motion feature allows for precise control amidst the chaos, ensuring accessibility for all players. The game is slated for an early access release on Steam and the Epic Games Store in Spring 2025.
