Yesterday, indie studio Mohawk Games announced Offworld Trading Company, a new real-time strategy game with a heavy emphasis on economics.
Despite not having much to show of the game other than the logo above, an in-depth blog post by studio head Soren Johnson outlined what exactly will make the game unique—namely its non-combative approach to the genre. Sorenson begins the post as follows:
“For a game about corporations and colonization, Offworld Trading Company has always been a very personal game for me, a game I have wanted to make since before joining the industry. I am most drawn to games that make me think and adapt and change; Offworld does that better than any game I have ever played.”
Johnson certainly seems very excited about the project, and if you read the rest of his post then you’ll likely find out why. The game seems like it could deliver a fresh experience for RTS fans, with money being the most important asset a player has at their disposal as they attempt to juggle production of thirteen different resource types.
Multiplayer is a crucial part of any RTS game, and it seems that it’s something core to the Offworld experience. Sorenson describes multiplayer as being ‘instensively competitive’ and having support for two to eight players. It’s also mentioned that games can be completed in less than an hour.
Whilst no solid release date has been mentioned, Offworld Trading Company can be pre-ordered from its official website at the price of $34.99—although it should be noted that this is more of a traditional pre-order than anything closer to crowdfunding. A ‘Founder’s Elite Edition’ is also available for $79.99 and allows access to the prototype of the game when it’s released.