Former EA Executive Shares First Look at New Project

After nearly 20 years at Electronic Arts, executive Patrick Söderlund departed the company last summer. Since then, he has gone on to co-found Embark Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and it looks like the new team is ready to share what they have been working on.

Söderlund recently posted an update from the studio in a Medium blog post detailing the progress they've been making not only as a team, but also on their first project. According to Söderlund, their game is a co-op free-to-play action experience "set in a distant future, about overcoming seemingly impossible odds by working together."

The video seen above shows their initial environment test in Unreal Engine. The map they showed is 256 square kilometers and features dynamic lighting and weather. Söderlund noted that it was created in three weeks by only three people, "using real-world scanned data, procedurally placed objects, and some great tools."

In addition to the environment test, they also shared some early concept art, which can be seen above. From what is shown, it looks like there are some massive robots that players will be encountering on their journeys while wearing some pretty slick threads.

As for what Embark Studios is all about, Söderlund said: "Beyond getting started with our first game, we have one large overarching ambition; in essence, we think it's too hard for people that aren't professional game developers to create games, and we want to blur the line between playing and making, with games and tools that empower anyone to create.

"Just like anyone today can produce their own videos, write their own blogs, or make their own music, we imagine a world where everyone is able to create and share meaningful interactive experiences. Our belief is that the more people that are empowered to create, the better, more interesting and more diverse games will become."

He then goes on to say that they are hoping to get the game out into the world quickly and hopefully provide something that players can build upon. We can expect to learn more in the coming months, but in the meantime, you can read the full blog post right here.

What do you think about the ex-EA exec's new project so far? Do you believe we'll be seeing the game anytime soon? Sound off in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @anarkE7!

Thanks, Eurogamer!