After nearly 10 years of waiting, fans are finally getting an official sequel toHyper Light Drifterwith the upcoming Early Access release ofHyper Light Breaker. While both games take place within the same stylized universe,Hyper Light Breakermakes many notable departures from its predecessor, branching out from the 2D single-player action-adventure ofHyper Light Drifterto become a full-3D action roguelike game with both solo and cooperative play. To help bring the game’s ambitious vision to life, Heart Machine is partnering with a new publisher forHyper Light Breakerin Arc Games.
Formerly known as Gearbox San Francisco, Arc Games is Heart Machine’s second external publisher. Initially making its mark on the industry via the self-publishedHyper Light Drifter, Heart Machine would go on to develop and release 2021’sSolar Ashwith the help of Annapurna Interactive. As the studio’s most ambitious project to date, tackling the “impossible problem” of creatingHyper Light Breaker’s roguelike open world required the assistance of a publisher that would support Heart Machine and let the studio craft the ideal version of the game. Game Rant recently spoke with lead producer Michael Clark about what made Arc Games the ideal publisher for Heart Machine.
Heart Machine Explains How Arc Games Helped Bring Hyper Light Breaker to Life
For an independent developer, partnering with a publisher can be a scary proposition. On one hand, having a publisher available to support a game’s development and launch can ultimately lead to a game reaching a broader audience than it would have as aself-published game. On the other hand, partnering with a publisher means giving up certain rights to a game, including but not limited to allowing the publisher to exert some degree of creative control over the final product.
When choosing a publisher to help bringHyper Light Breakerto life, Heart Machine wanted a very specific kind of partnership, which it ultimatelyfound in Arc Games. Speaking on the collaboration, Clark notes,
“With bigger ambitions, a bigger team, and the goal of creating a new genre/sub-genre, we needed a partner who could provide the institutional support that Arc Games brings, but we weren’t looking for new masters. Arc has supported our vision from the beginning - we create the game, they provide feedback and support. With Drifter, our first fans and supporters were our community that kickstarted it over a decade ago. With Breaker, our first fans and supporters were at Arc Games.”
Clark points out that one of the ultimate goals of Heart Machine was to have support forBreaker’s development without relinquishing creative direction over the final product. Arc Games' excitement about and support for Heart Machine’s creative vision for theHyper Lightuniverse was incentive enough for the publisher to support the studio andHyper Light Breaker’s development.
This enthusiasm comes with authentic trust in the developers' direction. Heart Machine’s relationship with Arc Games has seemingly been symbiotic and mutually beneficial, with the publisher’s resources helping to bringBreaker’s ambitious “open-world roguelike” to life without impeding on the original vision.
