Konfa Games, the independent studio behind the critically acclaimed roguelike deckbuilder *Despotism 3K*, is expanding its dystopian universe with a new, currently untitled title.Announced at BCN Game Fest, the project will continue the narrative of a world first conquered by the rogue AI, Despot, and later facing an interstellar threat [[1]]. Developers are focusing on a unique progression system inspired by titles like *Balatro* and *FTL*, emphasizing unlockable content over customary character upgrades. The studio is aiming for a public demo release following refinement of the player experiance.
Konfa Games, the studio behind the roguelike deckbuilder Despotism 3K, is developing a new title set within the same universe, expanding on the narrative of a world controlled by a malevolent AI known as Despot. The announcement came during an interview with developer Nikolai Kuznetsov at BCN Game Fest.
According to Kuznetsov, the new game picks up the story after the events of Despotism 3K, when Despot had already established control over Earth. However, the planet was subsequently invaded by extraterrestrial forces. “Despot took some people, made a very fast spaceship and he moved to fight with this union of aliens who are smart, and why did they destroy Earth? Because they are afraid of bad AI. There is a reason for it,” Kuznetsov explained.
The upcoming game will feature a roguelike design, but Konfa Games is aiming for a different approach to progression than many titles in the genre. Kuznetsov indicated the game will draw inspiration from Balatro and FTL, offering ways to modify gameplay between runs without relying on permanent upgrades.
“It’s just unlocking. It unlocks new spaceships, new artifacts, new spaceship models, but it’s not about metaprogression. You can’t, for example, increase your health or increase your damage between runs, just different modes, different spaceships, yeah, like that,” Kuznetsov said. “We like more metaprogression like in FTL or Balatro, when you have a lot of content and you can immediately replay the game and beat the game again with different things.”
Konfa Games is currently focused on refining the player experience and preparing for a public demo release. The studio is nearing what Kuznetsov described as a “vertical slice,” meaning the game has a complete gameplay loop with a substantial amount of content. “Right now it’s closer to vertical slice because we have a tutorial and we have all our content from the start, you just press play and you have a lot of a lot of things that are difficult to understand,” Kuznetsov stated. “Our next step will be to make a smooth start for the players, and after we are finished with that, we will announce and release the demo.”
The studio plans to announce the game formally and release an open demo in the near future. This new project demonstrates a continued trend of developers expanding successful indie titles into broader universes, offering players deeper engagement with established worlds and characters.
Again, the full interview with Konfa Games can be viewed below.
