The name Bossa Studios tends to conjure up the story of Worlds Adrift ’round these parts. Readers might remember that the promising sky piracy sandbox MMO started life as a PvP game that swiftly devolved into a cesspit of griefers, followed by a late-game decision to add PvE servers and issues between SpatialOS creator Improbable and game engine Unity, all of which culminated in a July 2019 shutdown.
Meanwhile, the studio elected to go back to making more fun and goofy single-player games in 2019, then later started showing off multiplayer game prototypes in 2021. That segues nicely into a a GamesIndustry interview with Bossa CEO Henrique Olifiers, who talks about the studio’s decision to sell several of its single-player IPs last year and its new full focus on co-op PvE multiplayer games.
According to Olifiers, this studio shift is being powered by several factors including its experience and capabilities, market considerations, and the generally lower production costs of making PvE titles versus the much larger ones for PvP games. Olifiers also points out that PvE game design allows for more “creative” and “original” titles to be produced, and he talks up the social aspects of cooperative gaming, particularly among friends.
That leads to vague discussions about Bossa’s next PvE project, which seeks to integrate some form of user-generated content into the mix that lets players build levels together. Information about this developing title isn’t otherwise elaborated on, but Olifiers does go out of his way to confirm it will not be associated with blockchain tech, and he also notes that the team is working on ways for players to monetize the levels they make while also making sure to avoid the “extreme” commercialization of a game like Roblox.
Speaking of co-op PvE games, Bossa’s so-called “protohype” program is still churning out ideas, most recently the co-op survival game Reclaimed and the multiplayer first-person tower defense title They Come at Night, though of course these prototypes may never see forward movement if people don’t give them some thumbs up. Regardless, it would appear that Bossa Studios has landed into a comfortable niche.
