The first internally developed video game from Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime’s publisher Dreamhaven is Sunderfolk, a tactical, fantasy co-op RPG meant to be played in person, with players using their phone as their controller.
Sunderfolk comes from Dreamhaven’s Secret Door studio, which is composed of numerous ex-Blizzard employees and includes studio head Chris Sigaty, who worked at Blizzard for over 20 years and served as a lead producer on games like Warcraft 3, Starcraft 2, and World of Warcraft.
“The board game table is something very special, and we wanted to create a video game that had those same elements,” Sigaty said in Sunderfolk’s announcement trailer. “We focused on this idea of collaborating together. We’re using the phone in everyone’s pocket as their control interface. Your phone being the controller allows you to have your own information as well as roll out only the information needed at any given time.”
In Sunderfolk, players will step into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic animals and embark in an ongoing campaign meant to be played over multiple sessions, similar to a tabletop roleplaying game. Players will pick a class that they will use over the course of multiple sessions, along the way leveling up and gaining new abilities. In Sunderfolk’s announcement trailer, we get a glimpse of a polar bear Berserker and an otter Rogue in action, as well as other classes like Bard, Arcanist, Ranger, and Pyromancer. The television displays the game’s “board” and information relevant to each player, while a player’s phone will display details about their character and abilities.
In terms of gameplay, Sunderfolk is divided into two parts. Players will embark on missions where they gather loot, battle enemies, solve puzzles, and complete objectives. After the mission, the group returns to town, where each player can go to different locations independently to improve their character, sell items, and talk to townsfolk.
Actress Anjali Bhimani, the voice of Symmetra in Overwatch and Rampart in Apex Legends, (and who has also made guest appearances on tabletop RPG shows like Dimension 20) can be heard as the narrator of Sunderfolk’s debut gameplay trailer. Secret Door confirmed Bhimani will actually voice all of Sunderfolk’s characters, with the intent, according to game director Erin Marek, being for her to be reminiscent of an in-person game master who does the voices for every character players encounter on their tabletop adventure.
Marek said the goal of Sunderfolk is to create something that would mimic an in-person game night, bringing people together like they would in a roleplaying game like Dungeons and Dragons or a board game.
“It is really trying to parallel that experience of I’ve got a hand of cards and a board on the ground in front of us,” Marek said.
Sunderfolk is also meant to serve as a gateway to bring friends and family members into the tabletop RPG space.
“We’re trying to give an entry point for folks already in the community to pull along their friends, their family, their loved ones, who want to be part of that community as well,” Marek said.
Sunderfolk is slated to release in 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, with more information about the game to be shared in the months ahead.
