Though the developers of Celeste have teased a new indie project called Earthblade, there's no telling how long fans will have to wait for its release.
Extremely OK Games is well known for its brutally difficult platformer Celeste. From a small handful of people, Celeste started as a PICO-8 game in 2016 made just in four days, but eventually became the fully fleshed out, award-winning game many know today. Many critics praised Celeste for its gameplay, demanding level design, beautiful soundtrack, and impactful narrative. Madeline, the protagonist of the game, also received much attention, becoming an icon both for those struggling with mental illness as well as the trans community.
With such a strong reputation under its belt, Extremely OK Games has teased its next game, but an air of mystery surrounds the game itself as well as its release date. On Twitter, Extremely OK Games describes the teaser as a "vibe reveal," pointing out how there's no gameplay or cinematic content to show from its newest project other than a gorgeous underscore. Unlike with Celeste, the developers plan to keep Earthblade's general process a mystery from the public, at least, for now.
This is because Extremely OK isn't sure how long Earthblade will be in development. While triple-A titles often spend so many years in development because of how big and demanding they are, indie games are forced into extended production times as they're being created by just a few people. Extremely OK Games doesn't want to overhype its own game, it seems.
For the time being, what is known about the indie game Earthblade is that it will also be a 2D action-explorer in a pixel art world, similar to its older sibling Celeste. Additionally, when Earthblade's gameplay and story are finally revealed, Extremely OK hopes it will "blow your socks off."
Earthblade is currently in development.