D&D Game from Giant Skull Will Benefit from Much Improved Motion Compared to Star Wars Jedi Series

Wizards of the Coast has signed a deal with Giant Skull to produce a new single-player action and adventure video game based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The studio behind this project is Giant Skull, which was founded in 2024 by Stig Asmussen, the former director for the God of War and Star Wars Jedi series.

New single-player action adventure game based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise

Asmussen stated that his team developed a significantly improved character motion model for the new title compared to their previous work on the Star Wars Jedi games. He explained that the studio started with vanilla Unreal Engine, which allowed them to avoid legacy code issues from earlier projects. This clean slate enabled faster development and resulted in fluid movement without blocking points.

According to Asmussen, the team leveraged their expertise in melee combat mechanics to translate those skills effectively into the Dungeons & Dragons project. He noted that previous decisions in the Jedi games created technical debt based on momentum systems. The new approach focuses on keeping characters moving forward smoothly without getting stuck or encountering jank.

Work on this Dungeons & Dragons game only began in 2024, which suggests it may be several years away from release. Asmussen described the motion model as much faster and more fluid than previous titles due to the fresh start with Unreal Engine.