The name Stoic may not ring any bells immediately, but its most popular franchise definitely will: Stoic is the developer behind The Banner Saga trilogy. The series is famous for its beautiful, unique artstyle, making decisions that matter, and crushing difficulty.
The three games of The Banner Saga trilogy prove that Stoic knows its stuff when it comes to RPGs that stand out from the crowd, painting a world of desperation and purpose. Still, up until now this is just about all Stoic has been known for. However, it seems that this will no longer be the case in the future, possibly the near future.
According to a recent job posting, Stoic is looking for a new level designer with a certain set of skills. Specifically, the company is looking for someone who has experience desigining MMO boss fights or levels for multiplayer action games. This could very well point towards them creating an MMO action game, and the job posting calling for someone familiar with Games as a Service models seems to reinforce this. If not a full MMO, it may well be a multiplayer-centered live service action game.
In all likelihood, the title in question will be an action RPG, mixing Stoic’s previous strength with a new direction. Oddly enough, there is a pretty good chance that this title already has a name, or at least a code name. This designer could well be needed for the somewhat mysterious Project Belfry, which Stoic was already known to be working on. A leak about the Xbox exclusive Project Belfry revealed a few things, most importantly that it will be a sidescrolling action RPG similar to Dragon’s Crown. That could be exactly what would necessitate a level designer with these specialties.
If this is indeed the case, the game might not be an MMO at all, but skills designing an MMO boss would still come in handy. After all, such bosses are designed to be beaten by many players working together. Such battles lead to impressive moments, like 12 Destiny 2 players Thundercrashing at once.
Only time will tell what finally emerges from Stoic, and whether or not it has staying power as a Live Service.
