Frostpunk just saw its one-year anniversary, and in that time it’s sold more than 1.4 million copies, far exceeding developer 11 bit Studio’s expectations. Now, the studio is thinking about what comes next for their game, which they’ve bolstered over the past 12 months with a steady stream of post-release content. While a sequel would certainly make sense, the studio has other ideas in mind, too—including a role-playing game set in the Frostpunk universe.
GamesIndustry.biz spoke with Patryk Grzeszczuk, 11 bit’s director of marketing, about his company’s future plans for Frostpunk. Part of those plans is bringing Frostpunk to consoles, which the studio is working on now.
But further on down the road, Grzeszczuk says 11 bit is looking into exploring new genres, including RPGs. The studio has been gradually adding to Frostpunk’s backstory and lore as they’ve produced more DLC, and that process has resulted in a world rich enough to support a more narrative-leaning game.
“We’ve had that approach since day one,” Grzeszczuk said. “We wanted to create a world, and then fill that world with stories, with places, and then build connections between them.”
“The world of Frostpunk is growing,” he continued. “And we’re thinking that, in the future we should think about, maybe not a sequel, but a spin-off—an RPG set in the same universe.”
Grzeszczuk didn’t elaborate further, but it’s an exciting idea, particularly coming from a studio that, between Frostpunk and This War of Mine, has pushed us into some of the most harrowing decisions we’ve ever had to make in video games.
Should Frostpunk find continued success in the console market, it’s likely we’ll see a more expanded universe in the near future.
We gave Frostpunk our Best Sim award for 2018.
