17 years after Rune, Human Head Studios announces an open world sequel, Rune: Ragnarok

In 2000, Human Head Studios released Rune, an action adventure built in the Unreal Engine and featuring a hack-and-slashing Viking named Ragnar. Since then, the studio has developed a number of games including 2006's Prey and has contributed to others like Bioshock Infinite and Batman: Arkham Origins. Today it's announcing a return to its roots. A sequel to Rune is in the works, an open world RPG called Rune: Ragnarok. There's a teaser trailer above.

Ragnarok is "set in a dangerous Norse universe during the end of days" and places players "in the middle of an epic battle where gods, beasts, and the last remaining humans struggle to survive" according to Human Head Studios' press release.

"After seventeen years, we are thrilled to finally announce a new Rune game," says project director Chris Rhinehart. "In the spirit of the original, Rune: Ragnarok has intense and brutal combat in a world steeped in Norse mythology. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve created."

We're hoping to see some gameplay footage or screenshots soon, but in the meantime you can lurk on Rune: Ragnarok's official site.

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.