Lunacy Games, a studio founded in September 2022 by Hellgate: London creator Bill Roper has signed a licensing agreement with HanbitSoft to create a new AAA Hellgate game within the Hellgate: London franchise. The project is codenamed Hellgate: Redemption and is scheduled for release on console and PC platforms.

Hellgate: London, released in 2007, was a dark fantasy action RPG set in a world plagued by demons. Developed by Flagship Games, the game was well-received initially but faced an unfortunate fate when the developer went out of business in 2008. As a result, Hellgate: London was shut down the following year. However, in 2011, the game made a comeback as a free-to-play massively multiplayer online (MMO) title in South Korea. In 2014, the game took a run at Steam Greenlight and then finally launched on the Steam platform several years later, which resulted in not getting much attention.

Now, 17 years after its original release, Bill Roper, CEO and co-founder of Lunacy Games has announced his intention to create a new Hellgate game under his new studio, Lunacy Games. Roper’s return to the franchise promises to revive the dark fantasy action RPG experience and breathe new life into the Hellgate universe. In a press release, the CEO stated:

“I’ve dreamed of returning to the franchise we created back in 2007 for many, many years. I’ve always felt I had unfinished business with the Hellgate IP, which is why our codename for the project is Hellgate: Redemption.”

“By using Unreal Engine 5, cloud-based game servers, as many off-the-shelf solutions as possible, and great co-development partnerships, we’re putting every development dollar toward gameplay and innovation. We’re keeping core gameplay and lore elements of Hellgate: London in our current design, but our intent is to build an exciting new experience that takes advantage of the numerous advances the industry has seen over the past 17 years since the original game launched.”

Here is an overview of the original game, via Lunacy Games:

“Hellgate: London is an influential game that was ahead of its time in numerous ways. It pioneered the Looter Shooter genre, featuring randomly generated levels that demanded a proprietary 3D engine with real-time lighting support, and employed a business model that was unique at the time, now widely recognized as a Battle Pass. That era of gaming even required the formation of a second company to build and operate the online portion of Hellgate: London.”

Besides the release platforms of console and PC, there’s not a whole lot of details to share on the project just yet. For those who want a taste of Hellgate: London, you can try out the Steam version.