Dreamhaven‘s internal development studio Secret Door announced Sunderfolk, a tactical co-op adventure inspired by a deep love of tabletop gaming, will launch on April 23.
The game will be available on Steam, PlayStation5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on April 23, 2025, for $50.
Irvine, California-based Dreamhaven is headed by cofounders Mike and Amy Morhaime; Mike is a cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment and was its former president, while Amy was an exec at Blizzard. They left in 2019 and started Dreamhaven in 2020 as a new publisher of original games.
Fans of Sunderlands can wishlist the game now on Steam, the PlayStation Store, Xbox, and the Nintendo eShop. Players eager to try the game can play the free, exclusive first look demo on the Nvidia GeForce Now cloud gaming service, available today through April 7.
The news was revealed during the Dreamhaven Showcase presented by The Game Awards. Sunderfolk is the game that I got a chance to spend the most time with. I also interview the Morhaimes about the game. Dreamhaven itself owns two studios and publishes games for other developers. It has a central hub to help with the publishing duties.
Sunderfolk’s interface is so different, since you use your phone to interact with the game on a shared screen. It’s a game you can play on a big-screen TV, teaming up with friends who can each play on their own smartphones. You can play the demo on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming platform. Mike Morhaime said he thinks of Sunderfolk as a “love letter to the genre” of tabletop gaming.
The Dreamhaven strategy
Dreamhaven’s games are spread across multiple genres.
“Hopefully there’s something for everyone in there,” said Mike Morhaime, in an interview with GamesBeat. “The thing that really attracted to us to these games is that they are all games you can enjoy with other players. They happen to have co-op elements, although that’s not necessarily true that Dreamhaven games have to have co-op elements.”
He added, “We are trying to create games that you can enjoy with other people. In the case of Mechabellum, there are even ways to enjoy that game outside of the game, since you can talk about your strategies and what worked and tell stories. And then you can play co-op as well.”
Amy Morhaime said it wasn’t a recipe that the company pursued.
Dreamhaven showed off four games today in its showcase. Dreamhaven’s Moonshot studio is working on Wildgate, a sci-fi battle royale; and the other internal studio Secret Door is doing Sunderfolk, while both Mechabellum and Lynked are both third-party games made by other developers. The Secret Door team grew to about 30 people, while Moonshot is 50.
“They were both going at their own time scale, and they just happened to converge this year. We didn’t plan for that, and then we picked up Mechabellum just a couple months ago because the opportunity was there. And so it’s all converging, but not intentionally,” said Amy Morhaime.
“Rather, it organically came together where these are games that we just love to share with people,” she said. “If you specifically look at something like Sunderfolk, we really wanted it to be about playing with each other.”
Mike Morhaime said the company is trying to be more experimental about the games it’s creating. It’s allowing its teams to pursue their passion and unexpected innovation.
“The formula is to release games that we’re excited to play ourselves,” Mike Morhaime said.
“When we first started up dream payment, the first thing that Moonshot and Secret Door both went through was a brainstorming exercise and [they came up with] a number of different ideas they could potentially pursue,” Mike Morhaime said. “Within the first three or four months after starting with the company, they both chose the games that they were pursuing, and then it just kind of happened to line up that they’re both really ready to launched at the same time.”
Amy Morhaime said, “We didn’t plan for it to all happen at once.”
“I do think it has gotten a lot harder. There’s always been a ton of competition in games, and I think that that’s really ratcheted up in recent years. It just puts more and more pressure on us to create experiences that are unique and different in some way that adds something that doesn’t already exist in the [popular] genres,” Mike Morhaime said. “These games offer some unique genre mashup or unique gameplay experience. I don’t think there’s anything like Sunderfolk.”
Amy Morhaime said players have so many choices and making something unique matters. She noted that a lot of triple-a games have come out and they’re not doing as well as expected. Players are clearly choosing not to play some of those big games.
Sunderfolk’s first look demo
Sunderfolk’s First Look Demo showcases the game’s early experience with all playable characters unlocked. I was able to play the game last week during the Game Developers Conference. In my demo, I chose to be a giant polar bear dubbed a Berserker, which is the heavy tank of the characters. Each of the characters in the game is an animal, while the enemies are demons. I thought the underground town of Arden looked beautiful, and the visualization of the tabletop characters was very well done.
A team of four of us joined together and it was pretty simple to get into the same game. We all had different characters and we lined up in a tactical battle against demonic enemies. You have to pay attention to your special powers, your vulnerabilities and movement points as you move across the grid of hexagons.
You make your moves and then the enemy responds. I was able to take down smaller enemies easily, but the cumulative damage I took mean I had to retreat and get healed. The archer moved into a position where a single arrow attack could skewer a couple of enemies at once. These kinds of chess-like moves make all of the difference in who wins the match.
Players can replay the demo to experiment with different character combinations and gameplay strategies. To access the demo, players can simply create a membership with Nvidia GeForce Now andlaunch Sunderfolk, along with the Sunderfolk mobile app to use as the game’s controller.
Signing up for an Nvidia GeForce Now membership is free–no paid membership is required toplay Sunderfolk’s First Look Demo.
In Sunderfolk, players embark on an enthralling quest through the Sunderlands to save their peaceful animal village, Arden, from a mysterious corruption. Using a phone or tablet as a controller for the onscreen action, players explore vibrant locations, encounter colorful characters, challenge fearsome monsters, and discover hidden secrets.
With no elaborate setup, rulebooks, or materials needed, Sunderfolk is a streamlined alternative to the traditional tabletop gaming experience, bringing tabletop veterans and casual players together to enjoy a charming fantasy adventure in an accessible format. Like its tabletop inspirations, only one copy of Sunderfolk is needed to play the game with friends. The Sunderfolk controller app is free to download on iOS and Android devices.
“As longstanding tabletop gaming fans, we at Secret Door know all too well how difficult it can be to get new players together for a shared experience. Learning rules, perceived complexity, and setup times can create challenges for playing with our loved ones,” said Chris Sigaty, studio head of Secret Door, in a statement. “Our goal with Sunderfolk is to leverage modern technology to make game night something everyone can enjoy.”
“At its core, Sunderfolk is about the joy of playing together–laughter, strategy, and making memories,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Dreamhaven. “Just like the tabletop games that inspired it, Sunderfolk creates lasting bonds between friends and family with each session. There is something for everyone to enjoy in the game, whether you consider yourself a seasoned player or someone who’s along for the ride. We look forward to watching your journey unfold in the Sunderlands when Sunderfolk launches on April 23.”
Key features
- Rediscover Game Night: Up to four players can play Sunderfolk, with each player’s phone or tablet acting as a seamless interface for character management and controlling the action on a television or local/streamed monitor screen for a fresh spin on the classic game night experience.
- Answer the Call to Adventure: Choose to play as one of six distinctive heroes with varying abilities and strategic roles–Arcanist, Bard, Berserker, Pyromancer, Ranger, or Rogue. Heroes can be tailored and customized with weapons, armor, items, and skills as they level up, enabling players to create a robust, well-rounded party equipped to overcome the challenges ahead.
- Step Into a New World: Sunderfolk is a handcrafted fantasy setting full of imaginative locations, exotic creatures, and eccentric characters. Dark forces emerge from the Sunderlands and threaten Arden; it is up to the players to protect the peaceful village and its inhabitants. Arden serves as a base of operations that expands with new shops and services as players progress through the game. Return to Arden between missions to upgrade vendors for more items and equipment and befriend the townsfolk to gain rewards.
- Put Tactics to the Test: In combat, players must strategize positioning and turn order, selecting from their deck of Skill Cards to execute movements, attacks, and use items. Luck is also involved, with Fate Cards playing every turn that can impact their effectiveness. Players gain experience and rewards as they complete missions, gradually unlocking ways to customize decks. The key to victory is understanding the heroes’ strengths and collaborating on a strategy based on the battle map and monsters in play.
“We’re making games, hopefully for everybody and accessible for everybody,” Mike Morhaime said.
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