Dark fantasy shooter ‘Witchfire’ to release in early access this year

Witchfire, a game announced back in 2017, has received new in-game footage and an early access release date.

Witchfire is a dark fantasy first-person shooter being developed by the Polish independent studio The Astronauts, best-known for The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

Announced back at The Game Awards 2017, Witchfire has received a new trailer at Summer Game Fest 2022.

The latest preview features some of the weaponry and powers that will be available in the game. The player character appears to freeze a group of enemies before shattering them with gunfire. Some classic fantasy settings are also shown, including a ruined castle and a gloomy forest. The trailer concludes with the protagonist blessing himself before turning to see a large enemy swinging a fiery sword. You can watch the trailer below:

In a blog post released after the premiere, studio founder Adrian Chmielarz elaborated more on the studio’s plans for Witchfire. The studio plans to release in Q4 2022 in early access exclusively on the Epic Games Store. After early access, the studio hopes to release on other platforms further down the line.

On the decision to launch in Early Access, Chmielarz shared the following: “We do believe that Early Access will help us make Witchfire better, it’s as simple as this. Of course, when we first release, it will be a game we hope is great from the start but judging by most games we played and loved in Early Access and beyond, the process can definitely bring amazing improvements thanks to the community’s involvement. That’s the entire idea, isn’t it?”

Chmielarz also praised Hades for releasing in early access on the Epic Games Store before releasing fully on more platforms, an act that The Astronauts is hoping to emulate with Witchfire.

Though The Astronauts is hoping to release in Q4 2022, it has clarified that it will not release the game until it is happy with Witchfire as first impressions are important.

In other news, a surreal skateboarding game from Sam Eng was announced last night.