Dead Cells isn't dead yet, and the developer Motion Twin has announced details about the first sizable update in months, and it's coming this December. Widely considered to be one of 2018's best games and one of the best roguelites on the market to date, Dead Cells has remained relatively active in terms of players and dev support since its release after a highly successful early access period. Players take control of The Prisoner, an amnesiac warrior's soul cursed to possess dead bodies over and over until it escapes the game's dungeon-filled nightmare world. Along the way, players can discover hidden levels, unlock a boatload of weapons and items, and crush bosses with deployable bear traps.
The last major update for Dead Cells premiered back in August. The Barrels o' Fun update added in a new level to explore with new enemies to defeat and, of course, the eponymous explosive barrels. Additionally, players were given the option of picking up an alternate chiptune soundtrack for the game in the form of a DLC purchase. Motion Twin then went silent for three months straight, which is not usual for the usually active and communicative studio. While Dead Cells is already a feature-rich experience, the team had not announced an end to updates, so players were still reasonably expecting more.
Diehard player's patience was rewarded this week with a Steam post from Motion Twin on its Steam page confirming that the team is hard at work on the next update. The team apologized for its relative radio silence, partially blaming COVID-19 was (unsurprisingly) for the delay. Motion Twin did reveal that a new update was coming for the holiday season that would include a new weapon, new enemies to fight, an added bit of lore, and a few cosmetic upgrades. The team also teased that there would be several bits of bigger news to come in 2021, but it so far has nothing concrete to share on that exciting front.
While Dead Cells players will be happy to know that there's more content to come before 2020's end, the new news coming early in 2021 could be even more momentous to the industry at large. Before Dead Cells, Motion Twin was known for a series of browser games, but the roguelite is their first venture into premium gaming. Sometime in 2019, a group of developers in the company broke off from Dead Cells updates to start crafting their next project. 2021 seems like a promising year for that next project to bear fruit, meaning that it might be time to reveal (or possibly even release) the next game from the creators of this standout experience.
When a team premieres to the masses with a game like Dead Cells, there's always a worry that it won't be able to recreate that success. There are studios like SuperGiant that continue to crank out interesting and critically praised experiences, and there are other teams that have are effectively one-hit wonders that produce a few lesser follow-ups alongside now-obligatory sequels to that original hit now and again. The world doesn't necessarily need a sequel to Dead Cells, expansive and well-polished as it already it is. Whatever Motion Twin is cooking up, it'll hopefully worthy of the legacy of its original breakout success.
Source: Motion Twin