Former Blizzard boss' new studio reveals debut tabletop-inspired game Sunderfolk

"There's nothing quite like it."

Sunderfolk is the debut game from Dreamhaven, the game company founded by former Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.

Morhaime announced the new company in 2020, which includes a roster of other ex-Blizzard staff and consists of two distinct studios: Moonshot and Secret Door.

Sunderfolk is from the latter: a tactical game inspired by tabletop RPGs, controlled with your phone. Check out gameplay below.

Players will adventure across the Sunderlands, exploring diverse lands, battling monsters, and meeting characterful animal inhabitants. It's all meant to parallel a traditional tabletop game, but made more accessible.

That's through the use of a phone or tablet as a controller, used for everything from inventory management to combat. It's couch co-op, replicating traditional game nights.

Combat itself will be turn-based, with players selecting from a deck of skill cards with which to attack. Fate Cards played each turn will impact effectiveness, adding an element of luck. Players must customise their deck and coordinate with others to ensure victory.

The character designs are wonderful! | Image credit: Dreamhaven

"The team at Secret Door, and really all of us at Dreamhaven, are all about bringing players together around fun experiences," said Morhaime. "Sunderfolk is a beautiful game, it's full of personality and charm, and it also creates epic moments where everyone is engaging directly with each other to work out strategies or celebrate victories. There's nothing quite like it, and we're really looking forward to seeing what players think."

Secret Door studio head Chris Sigaty (who previously worked on Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft 2 at Blizzard) spoke of the tabletop inspiration.

"We have a bunch of dedicated board and tabletop game fanatics on the team at Secret Door - getting together for game night has been a regular highlight for many of us going back years and years," he said. "As developers we also like to look at what inspires us and think about how to make those types of experiences easier to get into, so that more people can enjoy them as much as we do. With Sunderfolk, we're excited to offer players a game that's easy to pick up and play, while still challenging to master, and we can't wait to share it with the world."

Combat is turn-based across hexagonal tiles | Image credit: Dreamhaven

As well as the gameplay trailer above, Secret Door has shared a reveal trailer that details more on its development.

Sunderfolk will be released across Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch in 2025.

For more on Blizzard's past, check out Eurogamer's interview with journalist Jason Schreier, whose new book Play Nice on the history of the company is out now.