Still Wakes the Deep

Award-winning developer The Chinese Room is pulling back the curtain on its upcoming narrative horror game Still Wakes the Deep, published by Secret Mode.

In An Introduction to Worldbuilding, the developers at The Chinese Room explore the narrative behind Still Wakes the Deep and the research driving development. Lead Environment Artist Iain Gillespie, Associate Art Director Laura Dodds, and Lead Designer Rob McLachlan offer a behind the scenes look into this highly anticipated title.

In this worldbuilding documentary, The Chinese Room discusses how the environment will evolve over time as well as the key inspirations behind the game’s horror. The period, the geographical location of the rig – these all play a crucial role in this narrative-driven horror story. Fans will discover how the team developed a fascination for cranes and scoured British Petroleum's documentary archives when striving for an authentic representation of a Scottish oil rig in the 1970s.

Still Wakes the Deep is due to release in 2024 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.

About Still Wakes the Deep

Still Wakes the Deep is a return to the first-person narrative horror genre from The Chinese Room, creator of critically acclaimed games such as Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Dear Esther.

You are an off-shore oil rig worker, fighting for his life through a vicious storm, perilous surroundings, and the dark, freezing North Sea waters. All lines of communication have been severed. All exits are gone. All that remains is to face the unknowable horror that’s come aboard.

About Secret Mode 

Greetings from The Bunker! Secret Mode is the publishing wing of the award-winning Sumo Group Ltd. Our goal is to publish internally developed projects from any of our 17 game development studios across the UK, US, Europe, and India, as well as third party independent game developers. We believe that games are for everyone, and that creativity has no limits. We believe quality and fun are everything.

About The Chinese Room

Founded in 2010, The Chinese Room – a Sumo Digital Studio – is the Brighton-based award-winning developer of Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Little Orpheus. We strive to spin worlds, sculpt characters and weave narratives that are compelling, rich and emotive. As humans, we’ve always told stories and played games. What we get to do, every day, is amazing.

The Chinese Room is part of the award-winning Sumo Digital family of studios. Founded in 2003, and celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year, Sumo Digital employs over 1,300 staff globally in the UK, Europe, India and Canada and is recognised for its versatility, proprietary technology and creativity across a portfolio of games featuring titles for major publishers including Microsoft, Sony, Sega and 2K.