February 23, 2024
Everspace Developer ROCKFISH Games Celebrates 10th Anniversary
What began in 2014 with the idea of the two experienced developers Michael Schade and Christian Lohr and an empty office has become a permanent studio fixture in Hamburg 10 years later. ROCKFISH Games now has 25 employees and established itself as an institution in the Hamburg studio landscape.
The creators of the Everspace franchise specialize in developing impressive 3D worlds and action-packed gameplay in space, using the Unreal Engine. And their fans appreciate this effort very much. With the release of Everspace and Everspace Encounters in 2017, ROCKFISH Games has built up a solid fan base that has been eagerly awaiting a sequel. The team successfully raised 500,000 euros via Kickstarter for Everspace 2, which made the leap from a linear, roguelike space shooter to a semi-open space action RPG with looter-shooter mechanics in 2019. After a successful Early Access on Steam with 200,000 copies sold and 90% positive reviews, Everspace 2 was included in Microsoft's Games Pass for PC in 2021.
Before its full release on PC, Xbox and PlayStation in 2023, Everspace 2 was ranked among the 12 highest-rated Early Access games of the year on Steam. And the run of success continued: Everspace 2 was nominated three times in the categories Best Game Design, Best Technical Achievement and Best German Game at the German Developer Award 2023. Reasons enough for the team at ROCKFISH Games to put even more love into Everspace 2. The team is currently working intensively on upgrading Everspace 2 to Unreal Engine 5 to make maintenance and updates easier to implement in the future. Gamecity Hamburg wishes them every success with this project and can hardly wait to see what the creative space explorers at ROCKFISH Games have planned next.