FuturLab, developer of the Velocity series of PlayStation shoot-em-ups, has announced it’s partnering with Thunderful Publishing on a new game described as a Velocity spiritual successor.
Velocity was originally created for the PS3 and PSP in 2012, later getting a 2013 Vita release as Velocity Ultra and a 2014 sequel in Velocity 2X for PS4, Vita, PC, and Xbox One. The series has been quiet since then.
The games involved navigating a spaceship called the Quarp Jet through space, rescuing ships, dodging obstacles, and solving puzzles. We reviewed Velocity 2X back in 2015, praising its “thrilling sense of mastery” comparable to the Sonic the Hedgehog games of the 90s. The game got a Switch port in 2018.
FuturLab does own Velocity in name, as the studio confirmed in a 2018 interview with PC Games Insider, following a Twitter thread in which the studio said that getting a sequel signed was a struggle due to Velocity 2X having incredibly low sales despite popular interest and positive criticism.
The new game won’t carry the Velocity name, FuturLab describes it as a sci-fi adventure with, “stylish, high-intensity third-person combat,” which very much describes the original games.
Speaking to IGN, FuturLab co-CEO James Marsden explained the decision not to use the existing series name: “Velocity was a great vehicle to express our early gameplay ideas, and in an ideal world, we’d have continued growing the studio’s ambition using the Velocity franchise as a vessel.
That wasn’t meant to be, so we took some time to figure out how to get back on track. Whilst returning to Velocity may be an option for the future, for this new IP we’ve gone back to the original design principles and invented something completely new, which looks nothing like Velocity but will feel similar in the hands of players.”
Velocity was published with multiple partners over the years, but Marsden explained why FuturLab decided to work with Thunderful on the new project: “Since we’ve been working on this concept for a few years, we had plenty of material to share, including a comic to quickly communicate the worldview. This all found its way onto Thunderful’s desk by way of an industry friend, and they really took the time to dig into the world we are aiming to build. By the time we got to speak to Thunderful, their team were selling the game back to us, which is always a good sign!
“This is by far the most ambitious game for FuturLab, and Thunderful are at a point where they are scaling up their operations too, so it’s a partnership which feels very natural and exciting!”
Most recently, FuturLab released the highly-satisfying PowerWash Simulator into early access. Thunderful, meanwhile, is the publisher behind games like Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamesh, Lonely Mountains: Downhill, and Curious Expedition 2.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
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