Upcoming Australian-made MMO Loftia is a project of lofty ambitions. It aims to be a warm, welcoming MMO for everyone that recaptures the pure, cosy vibes of early 2000s web gaming on sites like Club Penguin and Habbo Hotel.
Speaking to ScreenHub, developers Martina Qin and Michael Su of Qloud Games described these gaming experiences as being formative to the creation of Loftia. Both developers grew up adventuring in MMOs, with each fostering a long-term love for multiplayer online worlds.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Qin and Su explored this passion further, even dabbling in the cosy game genre. Along the way, they discovered a shared belief in something missing: an MMO that combined the best parts of the cosy and multiplayer genres.
‘So, the idea for Loftia was born,’ Su tells ScreenHub. ‘[That was] about four years ago. It’s been quite the journey since.’
Loftia’s development story – quick links
Loftia was buoyed by the power of social media and public support
With Su’s background in computer science and Qin’s background in finance, commerce and marketing, the two began working together on a game plan, bouncing ideas and analysing what would be possible, between them. Per Su, the idea actually started quite small before it blossomed.
‘At the very beginning, it was a much smaller project in scope,’ Su says. ‘We dedicated – even though it was a fair bit – [of] our personal savings. In the grand scheme of things, obviously, games are very expensive to make. We didn’t have a ton of resources. So, we were fully remote and found teammates to work with online through online job boards.’
While the initial idea for Loftia was small and had personal origins, the appetite for an MMO of this calibre was quickly made clear. Gathering support via smart, compelling social media posts and word of mouth, the Qloud Games team quickly understood the passion that was out there.
‘There were a few moments when we started posting about Loftia, during the beginning, that were a really big signal to us that the world, and cosy gamers out there, really wanted a game like Loftia,’ Qin says. ‘One of our first videos on TikTok did really well. Then we posted a video about Loftia on Instagram and that video just really blew up and got millions of views.’
‘Suddenly, we got so many people in our Discord, people just raving about how excited they were. That moment was really, “wow, we really have something that’s got a lot of potential.”‘
The team rode this wave of positivity to a Kickstarter launch, which was a great success. Loftia raised AU$1.83 million, with the campaign also helping to gather a passionate audience for the game.
‘It just showed how much support, and how much excitement there was for Loftia,’ Qin says. ‘In that moment, we [knew] we [could] really take this thing and make it come to life.’
Later, the Qloud Games team was also able to obtain seed funding to the tune of AU$7.5 million, thanks to United States-based entertainment fund GFR and venture capital firm Bitkraft Ventures.
Loftia is the realisation of a dream
For Qin and Su, the support raised so far has represented the realisation of a dream, encouraging a confidence to forge ahead and to think bigger.
‘We always believed that we would [see the game to full release] no matter what the scope of the game was,’ Su says.
‘Had things played out differently, then the game still would have been completed and released, but not to the level of visual quality. It wouldn’t look as good, or be as in depth, or have as much content as we’re able to have now.’
What began as a relatively small project was only able to grow and thrive thanks to a community of like-minded players. Without them, they ‘wouldn’t be here,’ she tells ScreenHub.
‘Working together [with players] on this journey has been super fulfilling.’
Of course, the game’s development journey hasn’t been without its challenges. As Su describes, creating Loftia was akin to launching a start-up business, with all the risks and tribulations that come attached.
‘I think a lot of the [challenges] you’d expect to come with building a start-up, we ran into,’ he says. ‘Finding the right group of people who are passionate about Loftia to come aboard with us on this journey, and for us all to row in the same direction.’
Another added challenge is corralling a big, global team, working across multiple time zones. It requires early mornings and late nights on occasion, to ensure everyone can work together, and contribute efficiently.
‘We really want to do our community justice, and make sure the game is really great,’ Qin says. ‘Having that pressure, while good, can also be stressful at certain times as well.’
What’s next for Loftia?
According to Su and Qin, there’s still a long road ahead for Loftia as development work continues. It’s set to arrive in beta form for testers soon and early access is launching later this year. In the meantime, the entire Qloud Games team is working on a robust array of features while also trying to be realistic and prioritise the biggest, most desired features first.
‘There [are] quite a few things on our list to do at some point,’ Su says. ‘The list of features that we want, much like every other game, I’m sure, is incredibly long. We really had to put them in order of priority and basically go from top to bottom, and just squeeze as much as we possibly can, with a fairly small team.’
Loftia will launch with ‘a bunch of social features’ like player neighbourhoods, shared player housing and group adventures. Qin and Su are particularly excited for players to discover their interpretation of ‘cosy’ dungeon crawling, as well as the various puzzles and mini-games created to enhance life in the game.
In the long-term, the vision is to keep working away, expanding the experience, to provide a cosy and rich sandbox for players of all kinds.
Loftia will hit early access in mid-2026. There’s still a ‘mountain of work’ to complete, as the team wants to ensure features are compelling and that gameplay is optimised – including for folks on lower-powered computers – but they remain confident in their target.
‘[I hope] people enjoy and resonate with these last four years of hard work that we’ve poured into this project,’ Su says.
‘2026 is going to be our biggest year so far,’ Qin adds. ‘It’s going to be huge for us, and our whole team, and we’re really excited to see all the feedback that we get in early access.’
‘Really, I hope that our community enjoys the game, and that we get Loftia in front of as many people as possible.’
Those keen to enter the cosy world of Loftia should stay tuned for the game’s early access launch on PC in mid-2026.
