Developer Splash Damage is teaming up with two of the biggest names in FPS streaming to create a new open-world survival game, currently known as Project Astrid. Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek and Chris ‘Sacriel’ Ball are best known for excelling in games like CSGO, Valorant, Battlefield, DayZ, CoD Warzone, and PUBG Battlegrounds. Now they’re turning their hands to game development in collaboration with the developer behind classic multiplayer FPS Enemy Territory Quake Wars and spinoff Gears Tactics.
“I wanna build the best game ever – that is my goal,” former Counter-Strike pro Shroud says in the announcement video for Project Astrid. Sacriel, among the most popular British Twitch streamers of all time, adds, “One of my dreams for the last few years has been to go on Twitch and see people playing a game that I’ve been part of.”
The pair are joined by Splash Damage creative director Lance Winter to announce their new project, which Shroud says was initiated by a message from Sacriel asking if he would be interested in making a game together. “Instantly, I hit him with three words: ‘Yeah, I’m down.’” The pair then linked up with Splash Damage, which Winter says was already in the process of beginning development on a new survival-focused open-world game.
It sounds as though the pair’s primary involvement will be in honing that perfect feel that defines the best shooters. “I can remember my first kill in my first survival game,” Sacriel recalls with an enthusiastic look, “because those games tell more of a story than any other genre.” As two of the most recognisable names in FPS games, they certainly have plenty of understanding in what makes a shooter click.
“To me, what makes survival incredibly compelling is this pervasive sense of tension and of drama,” Winter explains, saying that the team is excited to “do something really new in survival.” Splash Damage, which is currently working on Transformers Reactivate, has a 20-year history dating back to beloved Wolfenstein spinoff Enemy Territory and its follow-up Quake Wars through to work on Gears of War 4, Gears 5, and Halo The Master Chief Collection, along with creating strategy game spinoff Gears Tactics.
Project Astrid is currently in pre-production, with more details due in the near future. In the meantime, both Sacriel and Shroud are set to discuss the news on their respective Twitch channels following the announcement.
Check out more of the best upcoming games in 2023 for lots of potentially great future hits such as the heavily rumoured Counter-Strike 2, along with all of our favourite multiplayer games on PC to keep you plenty busy until more news arrives.