Inside and Limbo dev is reportedly working on a science fiction project

Inside creator Playdead is currently working on a science fiction project, it has been revealed.

Brought to our attention by a Resetera thread, the news was originally reported by the Danish website computerworld.dk, in a long-form interview with Playdead’s founder and director Arnt Jensen, about the history of the studio. During the course of the interview, he revealed that the game Playdead is currently working on is set in a science-fiction universe.

“Ideas come from everywhere—from everyone in the company,” said Jensen, translated from the original Danish. “The next game [is] a fairly lonely sci-fi game [set] somewhere in the universe."

The Computerworld article points out that this is part of an “open, idea-developing phase”, but a science fiction title stacks up with concept art that Playdead released in January last year, which show a lonely figure exploring a bleak, alien-looking environment.

The interview also revealed further interesting facts about Playdead. The company has a relaxed and open working structure, similar to that which is claimed by Valve. Playdead currently has around 40 employees roughly divided equally between young designers and experienced industry veterans.

The article states that “No design manuals are used at Playdead. Even scheduling is very free.” Meanwhile, Jensen comments that “Especially the experienced [designers] think it's really cool that there are no deadlines." That said, he cautions, “They are required to be completely self-motivated. The team is expected to take ownership of the project and assist and support each other.”

The article also reveals why it took so long for Playdead to follow-up Limbo with Inside. "We try to keep production fresh all the time by having new ideas,” says Jensen, while Playdead producer Mads Wibroe points out. “There is no one who says: ‘It's a shame that your game is not done, but it has to be released now.’"

Hence, chances are it will be some time before we see Playdead’s new game in action. The current milestone Playdead is working toward is a small game demo to be shared internally at the start of 2019. Given that it was six years before Playdead followed up Limbo with Inside, don’t hold your breath for a glimpse of their next game anytime soon.

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.