Owlcat Games’ The Expanse: Osiris Reborn was one of the standouts from the recent Summer of Gaming series of showcases. Developed in Unreal Engine 5, the third-person shooter/role-playing game gave real Mass Effect vibes.
While it’s seemingly come out of nowhere, Osiris Reborn has been in the works for years. Creative director Alexander Mishulin told WCCF Tech that development began in 2021, and the team spent “almost a year doing prototypes.”
“The development started in 2021. We spent almost a year doing prototypes, transitioning between genres because the game we were making was not quite similar to the games we had done previously. So we established new processes, established new approaches, and made sure that everything was working well, the shooting parts were working well, and of course, established all the new processes to make content. After that, we started making our vertical slices, and now we are fully in production.”
Of course, those who have seen Owlcat Games’ output over the years will know that its primary focus is CRPGs. Even the upcoming Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy, its second title in the Warhammer 40K universe after Rogue Trader, is within that same structure. However, Mishuli reveals that the team always wanted to make a third-person title with Osiris Reborn.
“From the first pitch, it was all about making a third-person game because The Expanse is about people. We want you to connect more with the characters, the protagonist and the companions, and we want you to be immersed in this very grounded, realistic, sci-fi world.
“We wanted to show you that, and for that, we needed to change perspective and make things more realistic and cinematic. Because of that, we transitioned to the third person, and yes, we were a little bit afraid at the beginning. We started prototyping and made several combat and exploration arenas. We experimented with different approaches, how we wanted our cover system to work, how we wanted our enemies to work.”
For combat arenas alone, the developer had six prototypes to nail the combat basics. However, for those who enjoyed its previous titles, Osiris Reborn is “very much still the same Owlcat game with all the different options for you to choose when you’re playing new characters, to embrace them, to feel the consequences of those choices, with all the politics and web of intrigue happening in The Expanse universe. It’s very much the same approach to narrative we had in previous games, apart from the dialogue being more cinematic, more in line with the genre.”
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is in development for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC for $49.99. Those who purchase the $79.99 Miller’s Pack will receive exclusive access to the beta.
