Mike Morhaime stepped down as president of Blizzard in 2018, more than 25 years after he co-founded the company (as Silicon and Synapse) alongside Allen Adham and Frank Pearce. Two years later he launched a new venture called Dreamhaven—and now, four years after that, we've finally got a look at its first project, a "couch co-op tactical adventure" called Sunderfolk.
Sunderfolk, being developed by Secret Door—one of two studios at Dreamhaven—sets groups of up to four players off on an adventure to save their village of Arden from the encroaching dark forces of the Sunderlands. Choosing from one of six unique hero classes—Arcanist, Bard, Berserker, Pyromancer, Ranger, or Rogue—they'll venture through forests, mines, caves, and other such familiar fantasy settings, using decks of cards to execute actions in turn-based tactical combat.
That all sounds familiar enough, but it's the way Sunderfolk is played that makes it unusual. Each player will control their character with their mobile phone or tablet, while the action plays out on a TV or monitor. The idea is to recreate the experience of tabletop gaming in a more "streamlined" and accessible fashion.
"The team at Secret Door, and really all of us at Dreamhaven, are all about bringing players together around fun experiences," Morhaime said. "Sunderfolk is a beautiful game, it’s full of personality and charm, and it also creates epic moments where everyone is engaging directly with each other to work out strategies or celebrate victories. There’s nothing quite like it, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what players think."
Secret Door head Chris Sigaty, one of numerous Blizzard veterans who joined Morhaime at his new outfit, said there's "a bunch of dedicated board and tabletop game fanatics" who've been getting together for regular game nights for years.
"As developers we also like to look at what inspires us and think about how to make those types of experiences easier to get into, so that more people can enjoy them as much as we do," Sigaty said. "With Sunderfolk, we’re excited to offer players a game that’s easy to pick up and play, while still challenging to master, and we can’t wait to share it with the world."
It's an interesting idea that faces an obvious challenge: As anyone who's ever tried to organize regular D&D sessions will tell you, assembling a regular group of players for regular sessions of play can be a real headache. Sunderfolk is meant to be played as part of an in-person group, but it also offers options for those days when people just can't make it. The host can opt to control the character belonging to an absent player, or that character can just skip the evening's action and rejoin the party next time: They'll miss out on any loot earned (although the other players can opt to share if they like) but they'll earn the same levels and skill cards as everyone else, so they won't be left behind.
Sunderfolk sessions can also be joined remotely, so you can be social even if you're unsocial, and if you dig the game but can't get together with other players (or just don't want to), you can play solo, controlling multiple characters simultaneously.
Sunderfolk is currently set to come out sometime in 2025, and will be available on Steam and consoles. For now, you can take a closer look at sunderfolk.com, and check out a bit of gameplay in the video below.
