Ever since The Astronauts announced Witchfire last year they have been rather quiet about the project, until now.

During the 300 years of European witch hunts that started in the 15th century, tens of thousands of women, men and children lost their lives due to superstition, politics and profit.

But that’s our history and our world.

In the world of Witchfire, witches are real.

And you are the punishing hand of the Church.

That’s the core idea behind the game, even if things are not as black-and-white as one might think.

Witchfire is a first person shooter focused on challenge and mastery. We’re trying to make sure it’s accessible and there are many roads to the ultimate victory but you’ll still need to prove your witch-hunting skills if you’re after all of its secrets.

To get one thing out of the way: Witchfire is not a story-based game. There’s lore to discover and decipher, but no cut-scenes to follow. A project like that – e.g. like Bulletstorm, a game that some of us directed – would be bordering on impossible for a tiny team like ours. More importantly, though, the heart of the game is somewhere else. We will talk about it more as soon as we’re ready.

Nothing dramatic is happening. We’re working on the game every day. It’s just that eight people, even with the help of some amazing outsourcers and a fantastic engine (UE4) can’t really move much faster with a project like this. We’re looking for just one more programmer but we still want to remain a tight team for the time being. This might change in the future, when we have all features of the game fully proven.

A lot of asset work has been done. We have dozens of guns ready, they’re being animated at this very moment. We have enough modelled and animated enemy models to make a significant portion of the game, and one of us is currently finishing the work on the core AI that will govern them all. For two years now, the graphic artists have been working on the map assets mostly using the photogrammetry tech. The actual levels are being meshed. The main features have all been designed and just wait until their implementation time comes.

Still, we wouldn’t expect the game to come out in 2019. However, 2020 sounds reasonable.

Witchfire uses the photogrammetry tech The Astronauts previously used in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. This tech allows the devs to 3D scan real-life objects – even entire buildings! – and use them as digital assets in our games for unparalleled visual quality, and natural, organic look and feel. The Astronauts believe we can push the tech even further, with new tools, hardware, and all the experience we gathered during the development of their first game and can’t wait to bring you along on the ride.