It was a few days back that Nacon announced an insolvency filing that came as a result of financial difficulties at the highest echelons of the company. This threw several studios, projects, and hundreds of employees’ futures into question, including that of Terminator: Survivors, the highly anticipated post-apocalyptic survival game from Nacon Studio Milan.
However, after more than two months of radio silence, the team at Nacon Studio Milan has emerged on Steam with a lengthy blog post advising prospective fans that all is well – better than you’d expect, actually.
Keep Going Until We Can Go No More
Terminator: Survivors underwent one hell of a pivot last year. In December, the team at Nacon, now assumedly under threat of insolvency, revealed that Terminator: Survivors had switched from an open-world multiplayer game to a single-player exclusive title.
It was also delayed indefinitely at the time, which made fans sceptical about the game ever hitting the market.
On Steam, the team explained:
After months of internal testing, discussions with players and fans of the license, we came to the conclusion that to give you an authentic “Terminator” experience with the best possible shooting and exploration gameplay, we would have to put aside the cooperative multiplayer.
We know this may come as a disappointment, but we believe it is the right creative direction for an uncompromising vision of the world after Judgment Day.
Out of nowhere, Nacon Studio Milan surfaced on February 27 with a new post, putting a face to their studio’s name. They explained that they’ve been running for almost a decade and are made up of experienced and junior developers alike, all eager to produce the best game possible with Terminator: Survivors.
They offered new GIFs showcasing Terminator: Survivors scenery, set pieces, and some of the game’s ambience (including day-night and weather cycles), and explained three core points about the game’s design:
- Firstly, we wanted to create an open-world experience. We believe that a seamless and handcrafted world is a critical component to demonstrate the cause-and-effect of intertwined fates, and shows what “changing the world” really means — for you, and for all those around you.
- Secondly, though we do want to tell a new story in a new timeline, we still wanted it to feel like a natural extension of the fundamental lore set out in the first two Terminator movies. That meant exploring not only what the themes of the original films were, but also how the pacing of the narrative and the judicious use of cinematic effects built towards such a visceral experience.
- Thirdly, while each platform in Skynet’s arsenal should project lethal force, we wanted to pay extra attention to the design of the T-800. It needed to properly embody the unstoppable menace it was always meant to be, necessitating extensive testing to hone its lethality as the cutting edge of Skynet’s forces — in both past and present.
The next major update from the team will arrive this April. It was explained that, going forward, updates will arrive with a much more consistent cadence, and the next information drop will include ‘some peeks behind the curtain of development.’
Despite the difficulties at Nacon, the team is adamant that things are looking firm for Terminator: Survivors, and they invited users to join the game’s official Discord server to ask questions and learn about the game’s development.
There are even playtests lined up, which users can access by checking out the game’s Steam page.
Are you looking forward to Terminator: Survivors? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Bungie has addressed the latest Marathon issues
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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