Veteran studio CD Projekt Red has found $3 million to create an online action game about feudal Japan that will rethink the combat system in first-person games

Polish studio Dark Passenger, founded by veterans of CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077), disappeared from the radar more than two years ago, but has finally reappeared to share good news.

Image source: Dark Passenger

According to VentureBeat, Dark Passenger recently managed to attract seed investments in the amount of $3 million. The Games Fund and Blite Fund were the leaders in the funding round.

The funds will be used to expand the development team from 30 (currently) to 60 employees and produce the debut game – a multiplayer action game in the setting of feudal Japan with elements of stealth, PvP and PvE.

Dark Passenger aims to create unique games that gamers have never seen before

Dark Passenger threatens to reimagine first-person combat, abandoning leisurely gameplay in favor of highly dynamic and responsive combat inspired by fighting games, martial arts films and anime classics.

They promise the “ultimate ninja experience,” exciting chases, running along walls, roofs and water, a wide selection of weapons available for modification, a vertical environment, a world full of secrets and a non-linear story.

The game is created on the Unreal Engine 5

The Dark Passenger project will develop according to the model of service games, but without predatory practices or dishonest mechanics. The team will focus on regularly releasing content and interacting with the community.

The release of the debut game Dark Passenger is expected on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PS5, Xbox Series X and S. In addition to CDPR veterans, the studio includes former employees of People Can Fly, Flying Wild Hog, Reikon and RealTime Warriors.