Merriam-Webster defines the word “haven” as “a place of safety […] offering favorable opportunities or conditions,” but one might argue that most MMORPGs aren’t really about people coming together to make a safe place and instead are about either domination or being together long enough to get a basic objective done. Bucking that mindset appears to be what Project: Haven is about, as the indie studio behind the game is seeking to make something more about social connections, full cooperation, and friendship formation.
Haven or Project: Haven is the brain child of Unleashed Games, and while the studio is indie, it has some significant industry grunt behind it, with the company being headed by former World of Warcraft UI engineer and 24-year vet of the games industry Irena Pereira, as well as multiple former Blizzard developers including Brian Birmingham (yes, that Brian Birmingham), Jason Hutchins, and Kris Zierhut, as well as former Turbine dev Brian Labore (whose credits include Asheron’s Call 2 and LOTRO) and former EA dev Thom Ang.
The studio’s website is big on promise and potential but short on details, talking up aspirations to “create deep, dynamic worlds with immersive stories and an opportunity to forge friendships between strangers, while also deepening your relationships with those you know and love” and lauding its “new and innovative applications of generative AI” in its multiple video blurbs. A mission statement video additionally talks up the power of games to create honest human connections and the studio’s desire to make a truly social gaming experience where “cooperation is the win condition.”
Unleashed Games’ YouTube channel is also where interested genre fans can keep an eye on the development progress of Haven, as the studio’s devs come together every week to playtest the MMORPG live. The most recent such test, which aired last week, can be seen below.
