Owlcat Games will publish the upcoming role-playing games Rue Valley and Shadow of the Road

Owlcat Games, the studio behind the scout Series and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Tradersrevealed their plans to become a publisher. They have partnered with several external developers to publish their upcoming titles; the first two titles to join their initiative are both RPGs – Rue Valley And Shadow of the road.

Rue Valley (Steam page) is currently in development by Emotion Spark Studio. First revealed in December 2022, it is a narrative RPG in which a man is trapped in a time loop. During his journey, make various choices to break out of the loop and experience the consequences of his decisions. Rue Valley features a personality system, previously detailed in a blog post by the developers.

Shadow of the Road (Steam page) is currently in development by Another Angle Games. The title is a turn-based strategy RPG set in an alternate feudal Japan filled with yokai and steampunk machines. A gameplay teaser for this RPG was first released 4 years ago and Another Angle Games’ YouTube channel has continuously released prototype clips of various systems in development that the developers are testing. In a recent developer log, Another Angle Games showed off Shadow of the Road’s stealth system and a revamped combat timeline.

Owlcat Games mentioned that “both titles are still in early development.”

Renowned RPG developer Owlcat Games, the studio behind critically acclaimed titles such as Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Pathfinder: Kingmaker, has announced its ambitions to become a publisher. In addition to its development efforts, Owlcat will now focus on helping independent teams around the world bring their own RPGs and narrative-driven games to players. Owlcat will ensure its new partners have all the services, funding and expert advice they need to create new role-playing experiences.

“We want to work with teams that share our passion for telling compelling stories in narrative-driven games. These may not quite fall into the RPG genre, but they will definitely focus on story, characters and world-building. We’ve already started down the path to developing our dream game and now have the expertise and resources to guide other teams to the games of their dreams,” said Andrey Tsvetkov, Head of Publishing at Owlcat Games.

After reviewing more than 50 projects, Owlcat has signed contracts with two talented development teams – Emotion Spark Studio based in Serbia and Another Angle Games based in Poland.

Emotion Spark Studio is working on a narrative RPG called Rue Valley. It is the story of a man trapped in a mysterious time loop during a psychotherapy session. The main character must deal with psychological challenges and rise from the depths and delve into the anomaly to uncover its enigmatic origins.

Another Angle Games is developing an isometric RPG titled Shadow of the Road, set in an alternate history of feudal Japan. It’s a gripping story about samurai, honor, and loyalty, combined with a deep tactical turn-based combat system in a world filled with magical yokai and deadly steampunk technology.

Both titles are still in early development and more information will be announced at gamescom later this month.

Owlcat Games has also gained full control of the publishing label META Publishing, which served as the publishing partner to bring Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous to PC and console in 2021. META Publishing follows its own strategy, focusing on gameplay-first titles with cooperative multiplayer features.

The label has a solid portfolio of published games, including Biped, Spirit of the Island, Train Valley, Train Valley 2, and others. New upcoming titles from META Publishing’s portfolio will be unveiled at gamescom later this month, including Biped 2, the sequel to the hit 2020 puzzle action-adventure game, and Nested Lands, a new game from Brazilian studio 1M Bits Horde, the creators of Spirit of the Island.