Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine is returning to that game’s vibrant, stylized world for a sequel, Hyper Light Breaker. The follow-up to 2016’s challenging, top-down 2D action game will add new dimensions to its combat: Hyper Light Breaker will focus on 3D action and feature both single-player and cooperative multiplayer.
Heart Machine announced Hyper Light Breaker during a livestream on Thursday that celebrated the sixth anniversary of Drifter’s release. The game’s first trailer consists primarily of an animated, frenetic look at the world and style of the sequel, with a very short tease of in-game footage at the end. The developers say their next game will be playable next year; an early access launch for Hyper Light Breaker is headed to Steam sometime in spring 2023.
Gearbox Publishing is partnering with Heart Machine to publish Hyper Light Breaker. Release platforms beyond PC were not announced.
Alx Preston, Hyper Light Drifter creator and Heart Machine creative director called Breaker “a new path and culmination of everything we have learned over the past eight years of development at Heart Machine.” The studio’s previous game, Solar Ash, was released in 2021.
Heart Machine is also revisiting the world of Hyper Light Drifter for a completely separate project: Preston and producer Adi Shankar, whose game adaptations include Netflix’s Castlevania and upcoming series based on Devil May Cry and Assassin’s Creed, are developing an animated series based on the 2016 game.
