How Supermassive Games redefined itself and birthed The Dark Pictures Anthology
October 20, 2021Sometime around 2015, Supermassive Games had an epiphany of sorts. The release of that year’s Until Dawn and the positive response to the horrific bit of interactive storytelling (not to mention winning a BAFTA) changed the direction of the studio, and more importantly, helped it find its identity.
In the years since, the studio has worked on a plethora of games across a few genres but seems most comfortable doling out terror-tinged stories to a variety of platforms.
In 2019, the studio revealed its opus: The Dark Pictures Anthology, a series of eight interactive-storytelling survival video games that explore a swath of horror genres. The anthology premiered with Man of Medan, which drops players onto a ghost ship. In 2020, Little Hope delivered players to a ghost town. And this year, House of Ashes will have players trapped in an underground Mesopotamian temple during the 2003 Iraq War.
We chatted with Pete Samuels, CEO of Supermassive Games, about the company’s evolution, how it creates such horrific masterpieces, and where the anthology stands as it approaches the first season finale: The Devil Within.
To read the rest of this interview, which first ran on Sept. 30, 2021, visit UnrealEngine.
