New Game Announced by BioShock, Borderlands Veterans

Summary

Stray Kite Studios has announced Wartorn, a real-time strategy roguelite boasting destructible environments, challenging moral choices, and a striking painterly art style. Launching in early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store in Spring 2025, Wartorn marks the studio's first original IP.

Stray Kite Studios, a Dallas-based developer founded in 2018, comprises approximately 30 industry veterans—former members of teams behind BioShock, Borderlands, and Age of Empires. Prior to Wartorn, their credits include the standalone Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure and numerous creative maps for Fortnite.

Wartorn follows two elven sisters on a perilous quest to reunite with their family. Their journey is fraught with difficult battles and morally ambiguous choices, shaping a narrative-driven roguelite experience.

Wartorn's Chaotic Gameplay

Wartorn's fantasy world is deeply divided and chaotic, presenting multifaceted challenges for the player. This chaos extends to the game's physics-driven environmental destruction, ensuring each playthrough is unique. The game explores themes of finding purpose amidst chaos, with co-founder and creative director Paul Hellquist stating, "We’ve poured our hearts into creating a game that not only entertains but also makes players think deeply about sacrifice, survival, and the bonds that unite us."

Difficult Choices and Dynamic Combat

Between battles, players face difficult choices—deciding who to save, who to feed—further enhancing the replayability and narrative depth. Combat features a dynamic magic system, allowing players to creatively combine fire, water, and lightning for diverse tactical options. Spells interact uniquely with each other and the environment, adding strategic layers to combat.

We’ve poured our hearts into creating a game that not only entertains but also makes players think deeply about sacrifice, survival, and the bonds that unite us.

Wartorn's roguelite progression system allows upgrades to carry over between runs, easing subsequent attempts. The painterly art style enhances the dramatic setting, while an adjustable slow-motion feature allows for precise control amidst the chaos, maximizing accessibility. The game is set to launch in early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store in Spring 2025.