With the weight of the world on its shoulders, Xbox took to the stage last Sunday to announce a slew of new games, and hopefully in the process remind fans why they bought an Xbox to begin with. And by all accounts, that mission was accomplished. Though the45-minuteStarfieldgameplay deep-divecertainly helped to win over skeptical crowds, it was the sheer number of quality announcements the Xbox Showcase had that was truly astounding, with Xbox Game Studios titles likeTowerborneremaining memorable long after the presentation came to a close.
Being developed by Stoic Studio, the same team behindtheBanner Sagaseries,Towerborneis a side-scrolling co-op action RPG with an incredibly impressive cel-shaded art style to boot. But while this is the first official announcement ofTowerborne’s existence, rumors have been circulating the project for years, and though some of those rumors were false, a lot have ended up being bang on the money.
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What The Rumors Got Right and Wrong About Towerborne
The rumor mill started to turn its rotors all the way back in October 2021, when Jez Corden of Windows Central mentioned on his podcast that there wasan Xbox exclusivein the works known simply as “Codename Belfry”. Soon after, industry veteran and renowned insider Jeff Grubb took to the internet to confirm Codename Belfry’s existence, and shed a bit more light about the project. Speaking in a 2021 Giant Bomb video, Grubb confirmed that Stoic Studio was behind the project, but it boasted a few big changes from its previous titles.
The biggest difference betweenBanner Sagaand Codename Belfry, according to Jeff Grubb, would be their gameplay styles. WhileBanner Sagais more of a top-down tactical RPG, Codename Belfry would reportedly be more of a side-scrolling action game. However, Grubb did allude to some RPG elements carrying over fromBanner Saga, including the ability to forge new gear and upgrade it, though this would be done at a central base location, the titular belfry. Jeff Grubb also mentioned that Codename Belfry would have a similar hand-drawn art style toBanner Saga,albeit with more of a Ghibli-esque look, apparently specifically inspired byPrincess Mononoke.
In May 2022, a Stoic Studio job listing spotted by Twitter user Idle Sloth gave the impression that Grubb’s leaks were definitely on to something. This job listing was seeking a Systems Designer that had experience withMMOs and ARPGs, and in particular, had experience with “loot and reward allocation,” seemingly hinting that Codename Belfry would still be leaning heavily into the studio’s RPG roots. In September 2022, another job listing hinted that the game would be running on Unreal Engine 5, and later on in the same month reports started surfacing that the game would be officially titled “The Wandering Tower.”
Stoic Studio’s new project has finally been announced, and its actual name isTowerborne. But aside from the name, the rumors pretty much nailed everything else about the game. Based on the trailer released during the Xbox Showcase,Towerbornewill in fact revolve around a central base known as “The Belfry,” an area where players will return after their missions to craft new gear and upgrade their character.Towerbornealso seems to be a side-scrolling action game, though there’s still a big emphasis on collecting loot and leveling up the player’s character, just as the job listing suggested. Similarly,Towerborne’s art style does seem heavily inspired by Ghibli, and in particularPrincess Mononoke, with its forest mushroom creatures looking reminiscent of the movie’s Kodama tree spirits. However, it doesn’t seem as thoughTowerborneis running on Unreal Engine 5, though that hasn’t been confirmed or denied yet.
Towerborneis set for a 2024 release on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
