Sunderfolk is the debut game from Dreamhaven, the games company founded by former Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.
Morhaime announced the new company in 2020, which includes a list of other former Blizzard employees and consists of two separate studios: Moonshot and Secret Door.
Of the latter is Sunderfolk: a tactical game inspired by tabletop role-playing games, controlled with your phone. Watch the game below.
Players will adventure across the Sunderlands, exploring diverse lands, battling monsters, and meeting characterful animal inhabitants. Everything is designed to be parallel to a traditional board game, but more accessible.
This is achieved by using a phone or tablet as a controller, which is used for everything from inventory management to combat. It's couch co-op, replicating traditional game nights.
The combat itself will be turn-based, with players selecting from a deck of ability cards to attack with. The fate cards played each turn will affect effectiveness and add an element of luck. Players must customize their deck and coordinate with others to ensure victory.
“The Secret Door team, and really all of us at Dreamhaven, are looking to bring players together around fun experiences,” Morhaime said. “Sunderfolk is a beautiful game, it's full of personality and charm, and it also creates epic moments where everyone interacts directly with each other to strategize or celebrate victories. There's nothing like it and we're looking forward to playing. See what people think players”.
Secret Door studio head Chris Sigaty (who previously worked on Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft 2 at Blizzard) talked about the inspiration for the table.
Sunderfolk will be released on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch in 2025.
For more on Blizzard's past, check out Eurogamer's interview with journalist Jason Schreier, whose new book Play Nice about the company's history is now available.