Everspace 2 dev ROCKFISH Games celebrates tenth anniversary

The Hamburg, Germany-based ROCKFISH Games is celebrating its tenth anniversary of developing and self-publishing space shooters with the release of a look-back video.

Since the studio was founded back in 2014, ROCKFISH Games has released multiple titles and updates within its Everspace series for PC and consoles, and it’s sold more than two million copies across said platforms.

Started by Michael Schade and Christian Lohr, the studio eventually grew to a small team of developers, with the first Everspace title marketed and crowdfunded with the help of Kickstarter.

ROCKFISH Games CEO and co-founder Michael Schade said: “Everspace hit at just the right time. Rogue-likes were on the upswing in popularity, and our space shooter twist clicked with fans.

“What makes ROCKFISH Games is our team. We could not have done this without the talented developers who followed Christian and me from our previous venture, most of whom are still with us today, as well as the team members who have joined us over the years since we opened our studio’s doors.”

After the release of Everspace, the studio pivoted from the rogue-like genre to an open-world adventure, which was praised by fans all over the world and led Everspace 2 to become a critical success.

“Our journey through Early Access with Everspace 2 these last few years has been an exciting one. Pivoting from our rogue-like routes to an open-world action RPG looter shooter was a risk we were willing to take, as this game is so much closer to what we’d originally envisioned for our Everspace series,” Schade said.

“I’m glad to see that players around the world were so on board with this shift, and it certainly resonated with the media as well. We still have so many fresh ideas, so many amazing stories left to tell, and fantastic adventures lined up for space fans around the globe.”

In addition to celebrating its tenth anniversary, ROCKFISH Games has confirmed the addition of two team members to its studio: Chris L’Etoile, previously of Mass Effect 1 and 2 and The Outerworlds, joining the narrative design team, as well as veteran Bleick Bleicken as the team’s new Art Director.

Finally, ROCKFISH Games has announced that it’s been busy working on a “sizeable expansion” as well as a major free update for Everspace 2 titled Incursions that will launch in Spring 2024, adding new weapons and equipment, features, and migration to Unreal Engine 5.