Black Salt Games, the New Zealand-based game studio behind award-winning eldritch fishing sim Dredge, has announced it’s entering pre-production on its second game. It isn’t Dredge 2, but it is an ‘open world RPG in a brand new, dark setting.’
‘With the team focused on our next journey, development of Dredge has officially wrapped up,’ Black Salt Games confirmed on social media. ‘Our next title won’t be Dredge 2 but will be exploring a brand new world that the team is eager to share more about in the future.’
That’s all we know about the new game for now, but it’s still a rather exciting prospect. Black Salt Games made a cratering impact on the games scene when it launched Dredge in 2023, with this debut title going on to achieve critical acclaim, and a host of global awards. It was named amongst the best new titles of 2023, and was even optioned for a live-action film adaptation in 2024.
It was clear that Black Salt Games had something special with Dredge, and now, the studio is turning focus to new stories. While Dredge 2 would no doubt be well-received by players keen to experience more spooky fishing tales, the studio clearly has more ideas to share – and given how deep and creatively-minded Dredge is, we can’t wait to hear more.
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It’s also worth noting that Dredge has likely paved the way for Black Salt Games to tell a bigger, more ambitious story. The studio really has enjoyed a fairy story over the last few years, with Dredge being big enough to net major global success, likely funding the studio and its stability for years to come.
With this stability comes the freedom to pick and choose what to work on, with plenty of runway for the studio’s next big game.
Black Salt Games opens second studio
In addition to announcing work on its next project, which is likely several years away, Black Salt Games has also revealed a second studio to work on all-new games, alongside BSG.
This studio, known as Disc 2 Games, will have its ‘own unique identity’ inspired by ‘brightness, colour, and 90s retro.’ Per Black Salt Games, this studio off-shoot is currently working on its own game, and is ‘primed and ready to start sharing news about it in the upcoming year.’
We’ll have to stay tuned to see what Disc 2 Games and Black Salt Games is working on, as projects advance.