Mintrocket and Nexon’s Dave the Diver was one of last year’s biggest surprise hits, an indie gem that launched to rave reviews from critics and players alike. It’s good news, then, that Dave’s adventures are set to continue, as Mintrocket CEO Jaeho Hwang has revealed that a story DLC is currently in the works, along with plans to expand the game’s universe with supplementary spin-off titles.
Hwang, the creator and director of the title, was made head of Mintrocket by Nexon after the game’s massive commercial success. With this newfound independence, Hwang hopes to focus more on developing the Dave the Diver IP, building upon its lore with additional side adventures.
Speaking to VGC during Gamescom Asia 2024, Hwang expressed his desire to explore more titles within the so-called “Dave cinematic universe”, including an upcoming story DLC currently in development. “Besides the story DLC that we’re working on right now, I also want to make separate games about each character to show how they met, what they did before coming to the Blue Hole,” he explained, “I really want to show how [Dave] grew up, and how he became a diver, and how he ended up coming to the Blue Hole.”
By exploring the story of other characters in the game, Hwang explained how each spin-off could potentially be of its own genre, and cited the fact that the title already included returning characters from his previous work. “Cobra, one of our main characters, he’s from my previous project, Evil Factory. He was an arms dealer who had his license revoked, and after that, he retired and enjoyed his life, and something happened, and he decided to come into the Blue Hole. So I really want to tell this kind of story in other games,” he stated.
Despite all these plans for the future, Hwang remains keen to keep his team small. “I think the 20 to 30 people team is ideal,” he said, “It’s easier to communicate and easier to be on the same page that way.”
Dave the Diver was released in July 2023 and has received numerous content updates since its launch, including collaborations with Godzilla and Dredge. The game is currently available on PlayStation 4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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