Texas studio Emptyvessel, created by people from id Software, Naughty Dog, Gearbox Software and other major studios, announced its first game – cyberpunk team shooter Defect on Unreal Engine 5.
Image source: Steam
Defect is set in a dystopian future in the last city on Earth, ruled by The System, “an authoritarian AI with inhuman logic.” There are clashes between police and criminal gangs on the streets. The developers describe the game as an “immersive shooter.”
The game supports multiplayer PvP mode and co-op. Four teams of four people each participate in the battles. Among the factions stated are the System police forces, corrupt cops (Rogue Police) and several gangs fighting for power. In each match you will have to complete several goals (weapon smuggling, murder, arrest of suspects). The “most modern arsenal” and random items that can change the course of the battle are announced.
The recommended system requirements include an Intel Core i7-9700K processor with a clock frequency of 3.6 GHz and an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, a video card no worse than Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 with 8 GB of memory, 16 GB of RAM and an SSD.
The Emptyvessel team, which announced itself in March of this year, includes industry veterans:
- Development director Emanuel Palalic, who created content for Doom and Killing Floor 3;
- General manager Garrett Young – held leadership positions at Microsoft, Activision, Disney and id Software, helped relaunch Doom, Quake and Rage, participated in the creation of Forza Motorsport;
- Senior Design Director Kevin Powell is the lead designer of the combat mechanics and gameplay systems of Borderlands, Smite and Tribes;
- Animation director Rico Flores — Uncharted and Anthem animator;
- Character designer Colin Thomas, who had a hand in Uncharted, The Last of Us and Resistance;
- Design director Dan Moditch, whose background includes Doom, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor;
- Art director Alex Palma – worked on Doom (2016), Doom Eternal and Killing Floor 3;
- Jake Gordon – technical artist and animator for Tomb Raider, Batman, Rockband, Fable and Max Payne;
- Technical director Wei Ning from New Zealand’s Weta Digital, which specializes in visual effects for film studios, and also worked on Blade Runner 2049.
The team is advised by Riley Russell, former senior vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment and current executive vice president of Los Angeles-based Kojima Productions. In addition, the famous composer Mick Gordon, who wrote music for Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Atomic Heart, collaborates with the team.
The video received positive feedback from players – they noted the similarities with Cyberpunk 2077, Doom (2016) and the 2012 film Judge Dredd 3D (Dredd), and also reacted with delight to the news about the soundtrack from Mick Gordon.
Defect will be released on PC (Steam). Release dates have not been specified. Only English language is declared.