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‘BioShock’ Lead Designer’s Roguelite Tactics Game ‘Wartorn’ Lands PC Early Access This Year

Stray Kite Studios, an indie developer co-founded by BioShock lead designer Paul Hellquist, has announced its debut title Wartorn, a roguelite real-time tactics game heading to PC early access this year.

Check out the minute-long reveal trailer for the game below, showing off its fantasy sketch-art-inspired visuals and colourful isometric combat:

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The title marks Stray Kite’s first original release, previously working with other studios on titles such as 2021’s Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure, a standalone game based on the 2013’s Borderlands 2 DLC, and various Fortnite Creative minigames like the original Prop Hunt. The studio is also co-founded by Age of Empires Online lead programmer Shovaen Patel.

According to its Steam description, Wartorn will be a “single-player, squad-based, roguelite campaign experience where players play as Yara and Elani, sisters who have been driven from their home and must traverse the wartorn Isles of Talaur to reach the safety of Beynun, their ancestral fortress.” Players will recruit squads of fantasy creatures like goblins and demons to battle foes in strategic combat, using efficient battlefield positioning and squad combos to emerge victorious.

Being a roguelite, the game will consist of various “runs”, which seem to be randomised and will include “emergent gameplay” and “unpredictable narrative events” to promote replayability. Combat revolves around utilising the elements of fire, water, tar, plant and lightning, balancing the properties of each to form combos that can damage foes or heal allies. The game will also feature a morale system, which reduces upon losses and can lead to the end of a run once depleted.

“Our vision for Wartorn is a game that seamlessly blends artistic expression, tactical depth, and emotional resonance,” said Patel in a press release. “We want players to feel like every choice matters, both on the battlefield and in the story.”

Wartorn is set to enter early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store in Spring 2025.