It has been a packed week for Rumbleverse news (relatively speaking of course) as we got statements from both an interview and another Keits Rumbleverse replay stream.
Chelsea Blasko and Adam Heart (Keits) were interviewed on the FragmentsOfSilicon webshow, which was recorded live over on Twitch. They covered many topics and the whole interview is worth a listen, but I will summarize and relay some of the discussion surrounding Rumbleverse for our SaveRumbleverse.com readers. We will post the link here to the interview once it is posted.
Rumbleverse was more than just one person's idea or vision, and sprouted from Chelsea Blasko suggesting they make a "wrasslin'" game of some sort in a pitch meeting. It blossomed from there into the brawler battle royale we love over time as Iron Galaxy staff brainstormed, iterated, prototyped, and playtested. Keits mentioned that like their game Divekick, Rumbleverse was built upon the idea of making fighting game mechanics approachable to all kinds of people. Extinction, another IG game, gave them experience with mixing 3D platforming and combat.
Keits mentioned his goal, one that is shared by many at IG, is bringing joy to people through games. Rumbleverse was more than successful in that regard. Many people dearly miss the game (Chelsea Blasko's kid still asks about the game) and it is a testament to the uniqueness and fun of Rumbleverse.
Keits stated that he likes making games, but loves getting to watch people play them. And speaking of watching people play Rumbleverse, that is what he is doing weekly on his Twitch channel! These streams are on a whim, so follow him to catch the next one! It's great getting to celebrate and discuss Rumbleverse, and you can learn behind-the-scenes facts from Keits himself (Did you know Grapital City was inspired by New Donk City from Mario Odyssey?) You can find his channel here:Â
Now to discuss the return news we learned from the interview and recent streams. Both Chelsea Blasko and Keits reaffirmed that IG wants to bring the game back after Epic pulled the plug and the game was forced to sunset early. IG holds sole rights to the game and IP. However, a return is only possible if another publisher comes around to fund the game's relaunch. How likely is this? Keits put it bluntly: we want the game back, but don't hold your breath. Obviously the chances that another publisher takes on the risk of bringing Rumbleverse back are slim in the current market, so all we can do is hope. As revealed in the interview, Microsoft were actually the ones who approached IG about working on Killer Instinct for the recent update ~5 years after they last worked on it, so never say never I suppose.
None of this is new information, but hearing it reiterated a year and a half later is a good sign. IG is still protecting their IP, and it's worth noting that Keits is still unwilling to divulge any of what was planned for Season 3 or even changes they had for the next update. Obviously IG is still holding out hope for a return, likely or not. IG appreciates all the love the game still gets, so return or not let's continue celebrating and remembering Rumbleverse! Perhaps the noise will be loud enough for a publisher to take a chance... and #SaveRumbleverse.