During Summer Game Fest 2023, Quantic Dream announced their new publishing label Spotlight. With this announcement, they also revealed a new title named Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, and the release date for Under The Waves, coming 29 August 2023. Quantic Dream had announced in the past of their collaboration with other independent studios, but Spotlight is an initiative from Quantic Dream to help bring new stories from small teams to life.
You can read the full press release below.
Paris, France, June 8, 2023 – Quantic Dream is proud to announce today the creation of the Spotlight by Quantic Dream label, dedicated to publishing video games developed by independent studios.
Spotlight by Quantic Dream supports these studios from the early conceptual stages through to the international commercial release of their creations, providing tailored support and services at every key stage of development. Services include project financing and production support, artistic and technical advice, and the sharing of Quantic Dream teams’ expertise in user testing, quality assurance and localisation. Quantic Dream is also making its technical infrastructure available, including its motion capture and performance studio, its photogrammetry rig and its Dolby Atmos-certified sound studio. Finally, the publishing teams handle all aspects of communication, marketing and worldwide distribution of their titles. Quantic Dream provides these independent studios with the human and technical resources they need to concentrate on producing the best possible version of the game they are developing.
“Quantic Dream is a video game development studio that has been making its own games for 26 years. Having gone through the process of producing and publishing titles many times, we know the many challenges a studio will inevitably face and how to overcome them to make a good game,” says Guillaume de Fondaumière, CEO of Quantic Dream and Head of Publishing. “Spotlight by Quantic Dream is our way of highlighting the independent studios we believe in and of supporting their passion for their projects with all the expertise and resources of our own development studio and experienced editorial team. This label is also a guarantee of quality for gamers and the community that has supported us for many years: it tells them that we have carefully selected these games and supported the team that created them.”
Following the 2021 release of Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut, developed by German studio Jo-Mei, Spotlight by Quantic Dream will be publishing two new titles in the coming months: Under The Waves, developed by Parallel Studio, and Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, developed by Sand Door Studio, both based in France. Other projects in the pipeline include Dustborn, currently under development by Norwegian studio Red Thread Games.
Under The Waves is a narrative adventure game about the engulfing power of grief and humanity’s impact on nature. The game incorporates awareness-raising messages from Surfrider Foundation Europe to support the game’s ecological aims.
From the talented team at Parallel Studio, Under The Waves reveals its release date in a new trailer unveiled at Summer Game Fest 2023. Scheduled for release on August 29, 2023, on PC, Xbox Series S/X, and PlayStation 5, Under The Waves follows the journey of Stan, a professional diver operating in the depths of the North Sea. Isolated underwater, he starts to experience strange events that will make him question his sanity.
“Under The Waves is a project I’ve had in mind since I was a teenager, based on a prototype for a 2D submarine game that involved cleaning up ocean pollution. That idea served as the basis, but it was really our work and inspiration as a team that made the game what it is today,” explains Ronan Coiffec, CEO and Game Director of Parallel Studio. “I am proud to have been able to bring this adventure to life with the support of Spotlight by Quantic Dream. This collaboration has brought us creative proposals and technical solutions that go beyond just publishing our game.”
Winner of the 2020 Grand Jury Prize at ISART Digital and Best Student Video Game at the 2021 Pégases Awards, Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior lets players rewind time to fight alongside an army of clones of their past actions. The first creation from Sand Door Studio, Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is a single player hack’n’slash game with a tactical twist in development for PC, in which the player takes on the role of Imë, a powerful warrior who must save the New Kingdom.
“The game was born as a student project. One of our first challenges was to develop it into a complete and innovative experience, first through the creation of our studio, Sand Door, and then through our publishing partnership with Spotlight by Quantic Dream,” explains Studio Director Matthieu Schneider. “We’re proud to have grown the studio and the ambition of the project. The collaboration with Spotlight by Quantic Dream has brought a lot of added value to Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, through various creative exchanges and support throughout the production process. This collaboration is a real asset for the game, and we can’t wait for gamers around the world to discover the New Kingdom!”
