The new game from the makers of Portal Knights: Enshrouded (Image: Keen Games)
One of the most complex German computer games is created in Frankfurt: Die Portal Knights-Makers of Keen Games are working on Enshrouded.
Update from January 25, 2024: Since yesterday is Wednesday Enshrouded in Steam’s Early Access program listed – minus the introductory discount, the price is €26.99.
The co-op survival action role-playing game including building and crafting elements serves one of the most popular genres at the moment. Special feature: the huge voxel world, which can be explored either in solo mode or cooperatively with up to 16 colleagues.
The start was obviously successful: in the Top seller list lies the project of the Frankfurt studio Keen Games (Portal Knights) at number 1 this Thursday morning – still ahead Palworld.
Full version and console implementations are planned for a later date.
Update from November 7, 2023: It starts a little later than originally planned, namely on January 24, 2024 Enshrouded at Steam into early access mode. The release of the full PC version and the console implementations is planned for a later, not yet specified period.
The survival action role-playing game is being developed at Keen Games in Frankfurt/Main, one of the largest studios in Germany. The Federal Ministry of Economics has allocated more than €2 million since 2021 Enshrouded contributed.
Report from May 3, 2023: In 2017, the Frankfurt studio Keen Games, according to the computer game award jury, did so “Best German game” delivered – with the visual appearance Minecraft reminiscent co-op action role-playing game Portal Knights. The game is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Switch and smartphones, was distributed by 505 Games and has sold well over 3.5 million copies – with a particularly large number of fans in China.
This genre will also be used in the next major Keen project: Enshrouded takes place on the huge, deserted island of Embervale, which can be explored alone or with up to 16 other players. The list of tasks is long: hunt, collect, explore dungeons, defeat bosses, build halls, furnish buildings, find lost recipes, upgrade heroes, unlock workshops and of course craft weapons, spells and armor.
Should be in the current year 2023 Enshrouded (translated: ,Wrapped up‘) enter test operation, i.e. the early access phase.
With the trademark registered only six months ago Enshrouded also gets the ominous project with the working title ‚Game 38‘ a ‘real’ name: The then responsible Ministry of Transport promised Keen Games a grant of more than €2 million in September 2021 – one of the highest sums to date in German games funding.
But that Enshrouded-Total budget is significantly higher: The venture capital firm Hiro Capital and the Chinese games world market leader Tencent contributed a further €10 million in 2021. That’s what counts Enshrouded to a very exclusive circle of PC and console games from Germany, whose development costs are in the double-digit million range.
Creative Director Antony Christoulakis: “Enshrouded is the culmination of what Keen Games has dreamed of for years. We can’t wait to present it to players and shape the future of Enshrouded together with our community.”
Keen Games has only officially been around since 2005, but the 45-person team around Jan Jöckel and Pete Walentin has been building computer games for decades. The Frankfurt studio has made a name for itself with Nintendo DS versions of German classics such as Anno 1701 and Tunguska secret files.