Raphael Koster is recognized as the creator of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. However, he is also an esteemed game development theorist, largely due to his book “Game Development and Entertainment Theory.”
Since 2019, Koster has been developing a new multiplayer game, which only recently was officially named Stars Reach. In 2022, the Chinese publisher Kakao Games invested about $25 million in the game and greenlit its development. The full announcement has only just been made.
Stars Reach: At a Glance
- The Pedigree | Created by Raph Koster (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies).
- The Tech | A “Living World” where water evaporates, fire spreads, and physics matter.
- The Visuals | High-fidelity sci-fi aesthetics inspired by Breath of the Wild.
- The Model | Free-to-Play with a focus on ethical cosmetic monetization.
- The Social | Advanced cloning systems to play low-level content with friends.
Stars Reach is conceived as an ambitious project. Koster aims to craft a living, dynamic world where every element follows physical laws. Materials possess properties like humidity and temperature, water cycles through evaporation and freezing with the day, and a stray blaster shot can ignite a blaze, illustrating the game’s interactive environment.
The game will offer a sci-fi universe infused with mysticism, featuring graphics reminiscent of Genshin Impact and Breath of the Wild, along with a plethora of social activities.A notable social feature is the introduction of a Cloning and Mentorship system, allowing high-level players to generate ‘clones’ to enjoy low-level content and progress alongside friends without losing their main character’s standing.
The developers are also touting a classless system, thrilling combat, a sophisticated economy, extensive construction capabilities, UCG quests, planet procedural generation, intricate customization, intelligent AI, and more. This level of detail surpasses even Peter Molyneux’s renowned trees.
This enticing package will be presented as a free-to-play game, with Koster planning to monetize through the sale of cosmetic items.
The game has not been assigned a release date yet. There is a page on Steam.
