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The year 2026 of our Lord marks the 14th anniversary of Abbey Games. We can’t believe we’ve been bumbling our way through Steam for so long! As we talked with the good folks of Sparrow Night (the Dutch studio behind News Tower), it became clear how much we’ve already been through. Ironically, 2026 is shaping up to be a relatively stable year for us. Reus 2 is still doing well enough to support us, especially with the release of Grasslands. So let's take a look at our quarterly thoughts!

We currently have two projects in the works. The first is more Reus 2! We won’t spoil too much yet, except that it is a much-requested addition… We hope to release more information within a few months!

The second project is our new title, that has been in development since late last year. We already uncovered some information in our last post. Our games change a notorious number of times before the public sees them, and we hope to do it a bit differently this time around!

The project codename is Pythia. You take the role of the Oracle of Delphi, who has received a vision of Greece’s destruction. The Olympian gods are fed up with the Greeks. In their eyes, the Greeks have committed the two most heinous sins; they failed to pay proper respect to the gods, and they have become insufferably boring.

Your task is to save Greece. Not by slaying monsters yourself, but by twisting the fates of destined heroes to stir up drama and entertain the gods. While these heroes will have to impress with their skills, their fates can be heroic or tragic... Exactly the way the gods like it! Progress can look like a triumph or a tragedy - as long as it makes for good drama.

We have two games that are key inspirations. 

• Our long-term fans might have spotted a big splash of Renowned Explorers here. Our 2015 title is our starting point. We want to hit many of its notes with Pythia, especially in terms of characters, depth, and Create-Your-Own-Adventuring. 

• The Arkham Horror LCG is also a big inspiration for Pythia. We love the replayable campaign structure of that card game, including thematic deck building.

We’re beyond excited with the development of Pythia, and can’t wait to show you our progress!

In this ocean of game quality one calls Steam, it’s important to serve your audience to the best of your ability. You could literally pick from hundreds of other great games, so why pick an Abbey Game? To stay focused, we define characteristics that describe the people we make games for. These are traits we (partially) see in ourselves, and hope help us stay connected and authentic:

• Mentally Fit: Our games are relatively heavy on thinking, original, and not always easy to learn. You see this as a positive - you’re looking to get their minds stimulated and challenged. You want to see and learn new things, and keep your mind sharp.

  • This means we design for replayable, deep, and complex games. Tutorials and onboarding are important, but a good amount of depth has priority. Mastery, and strategy are core pillars of our design.

• Cultured: You don’t play just to unwind or forget. Gaming is culture for you. You know what’s out there. Tired tropes, lack of craftsmanship, or unoriginal ideas turn you off greatly. You always keep an eye out for interesting indie tiles. You take with you high standards and a breadth of gaming knowledge that we build on… or subvert!

  • This means we’re always looking to make something unique and different. If a project is looking too much like another game out there, we’ll change it or cancel it. We also try to upkeep a high bar of quality and stability. If we don’t deliver our best, we have no right to claim your time. You’re well-informed, and will find our games if they’re worth finding.

• Vigorous: Life for you is already busy. You might have a family, a demanding job, an active (online) community, lots of great games to play, or you run an epic D&D campaign. Single player gaming is your “me time”. It’s where you can get excited or obsessed at your own pace. You do not necessarily need a new community, limited timed events, or other forms of social engagement. You are sovereign in your attention and time.

  • This means ease of saving and loading, manageable sessions are important traits of all our games. You need to be able to play 1 hour sessions. A real challenge for strategy games, but worth the squeeze. We strongly prioritize single player experience with no grind. We respect your time, and try to design specific “I’ve had my fill” points for you to quit naturally and move on to your next adventure. Although you can always dive into the depth of our games once more!

• Vigilant: The internet and corporate world can be dark places, and you know it. Whether it’s predatory business models, addiction, scams, or AI slop, you are aware it’s out there. People preying on others in the game space gets your ire.

  • This means we will never build in dark patterns or offload our creative efforts. We won’t go into gambling adjacency, and try to make our games engaging, but not addictive. We value artistic and artisan expression. We will be upfront about costs, and not try to seduce you into buying something based on anything else than proper value.

• Light-Hearted: While you can look sarcastic or ironic, you’re well-humored and can take a joke. You’re playful, and know when to take something seriously and when to laugh. This doesn’t mean you're cynical or dismissive. On the contrary, you hold your values strongly and are willing to move if they get crossed. But you also believe in the general goodwill of others.

  • This means we remain colorful and positive, but like to get in a little jab in as well. We don’t take our settings too seriously and explore it from a playful perspective. The humor might cross some borders for some, but we expect you to see our good faith intentions. Behind the quips are issues that are to be respected, and a laugh might help break the tension a bit.

• Fabulously Handsome: I don’t know why, but I've just got a feeling this has to be true.

  • This means that if possible, we will hang a poster of you in our office.

Average Abbey Fan, in our experience.

Can you see yourself in one of these traits? Do you think we’re oblivious to another one? Let us know!

I (Adriaan ) have been playing Monster Hunter Stories 3, Octopath Traveler 0, and many boardgames, like the aforementioned Arkham Horror LCG and Pathfinder 2e.

I want to highlight 2 games. Skin Deep is a great stealth-ish puzzle game with good humor - not unlike Portal! It was a bit hard to get into and relies on your own discipline to be creative, but once I got an hour or two in, I was hooked till the end!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/301280/Skin_Deep/?curator_clanid=4777282Fretless is an awesome rhytm-RPG, with amazing style. It has a lot of original thoughts, but still feels familiar. While not all the gameplay potential comes to fruition, the execution and originality is simply inspiring for me as a developer.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429050/Fretless__The_Wrath_of_Riffson/Both these games are short and sweet, which was a must for me after slogging through Octopath Traveler 0. (Which was still great!)

Manuel has been playing the board games Bomb Busters and Wild Venture, which he enjoyed a lot! On Steam he has been playing Slay the Spire 2, Tunic, and 1000x Resist.

But his highlight is Death Howl.
"It's actually refreshing to play a deckbuilding game WITHOUT roguelite progression. Synergizing my way through haunting areas on my way through a longer story feels good."

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2825880/Death_Howl/

That’s all for this quarter! We hope to see you around!

- Adriaan and the monks of the Abbey