Fumito Ueda, famous for his work on smash-hits like The Last Guardian and Shadow of the Colossus, has spoken up about his hopes for 2023. The coming year is shaping up to be one for the history books with many exciting new titles for gamers to look forward to; news from one of gaming's masters of unique art design and nuanced storytelling is sure to get the attention of those who have enjoyed his work, like Ico which is spoken of in high regard 20 years after it first released.
Ueda is often touted as one of the most brilliant minds in gaming, gaining notoriety after his first title as part of Sony Computer Entertainment, Ico, was released to critical acclaim and garnered a cult following. Ueda went on to create Shadow of the Colossus, which received similar acclaim, and eventually left Sony to establish GenDesign. The company remained involved with the development of The Last Guardian, which ultimately released on the PS4 after numerous delays.
In a recent interview with Famitsu, Ueda indicated that he and the team at GenDesign were working hard towards announcing something in 2023 and asked fans to continue supporting their efforts. Ueda was among the 141 creators that Famitsu interviewed regarding their aspirations for the coming year, including the likes of Yoko Taro, Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi who created Final Fantasy, and many others from some of the industry's biggest and most respected developers.
It's only natural that Ueda would play his cards close to his chest following the troubled development of The Last Guardian so as not to give fans the wrong impression or get them too excited about an impending announcement, but the fact remains that it has been 6 years and counting since the release of The Last Guardian. Therefore, it is reasonable to be cautiously hopeful that Ueda and his team at GenDesign will have something to announce in the coming year, perhaps at the 2023 Tokyo Game Show taking place in Chiba in September. In fact, many had hoped GenDesign would make an announcement at the 2022 Tokyo Game show, but this did not materialize.
GenDesign has been highly secretive about whatever it is that they are working on, but what we do know is that it will be published by Epic Games, and it will also be a completely new game, unrelated to Shadow of the Colossus or The Last Guardian - the latter tidbit is unsurprising since Sony owns the rights to those titles. While there may be those who are champing at the bit in anticipation of an announcement from GenDesign, it's safe to say that there is a lot to look forward to in 2023, including the possibility that their next game will be revealed.
