Tencent's Lightspeed and Quantum Studios helped designer David Kim put up Uncapped Games. The objective of the new studio? Make a really great RTS game.
LA-based Uncapped Games is led by three key ex-Blizzard employees. Lead Designer David Kim worked as a designer for Starcraft 2. With him is Lead Producer Jason Hughes, producer for Diablo 3, Diablo 4, and Hearthstone. Completing the triumvirate of RTS gaming over at Uncapped Games is Lead Engineer Zhongshan Zhang, who was senior graphics programmer for Starcraft 2.
The objective is to make the next great RTS game. Visiting the Uncapped Games website greets you with this quote: “Uncapped Games is a team of veteran developers brought together by passion, enthusiasm, and experience to try and make the world's next great RTS game.” In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, Hughes says that they have the “perfect storm” in the studio in creating the perfect RTS game. It also seems like Tencent's very own CEO is on board with this vision. “One of the things he said was ‘Just focus on making a great PC RTS game, and don't worry about other factors,” Kim says. “The measurement of success is if we have a great game.”
Kim also says that it's perfect that they get to create a new game from scratch with Uncapped Games. There are certain challenges that will limit your creative freedom when making a sequel, Kim says. “If we make it a brand new game,” Kim says, “it opens up more possibilities on the game design side to be able to execute what we want to execute the best.
Will we see a resurgence of RTS games thanks to Tencent?
RTS games have not been in vogue over the past decade, but we just might see a resurgence. Xbox Games Studios is giving a shot at the RTS genre by publishing the next Age of Empires game. Blizzard itself has seemingly abandoned any interest in their RTS games, with no news about Starcraft and Warcraft getting any more RTS sequels. However, a giant like Tencent can lead the way in reviving the genre. If Uncapped Games can successfully create what would be the “next biggest RTS game,” interest in the genre will undoubtedly return. Then surely developers around the world will follow through.
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