Former Bulletstorm developers The Astronauts confirm they're 'not making a shooter' or mobile game

The Astronauts, the studio formed last week by three former members of Bulletstorm-developer People Can Fly, is "not making a shooter" or a mobile game, according to its official website.

Considering the announcement that The Astronauts' first title is being developed on Epic's Unreal Engine 3, some people jumped to conclusions about the game's genre and platform. So the company's founders responded to user comments on the gaming press' articles about the formation of The Astronauts, addressing some feedback and dispelling a few myths.

Regarding the jeers from people tired of Unreal Engine 3 shooters, The Astronauts said and then reiterated that they're not working on a shooter. The company also pointed out, "It's actually silly to talk about 'yet another Unreal Engine game' when some of the best, most unique games in the world are made with exactly that particular tech" — games like Dishonored and those in the Mass Effect franchise. Other people guessed that The Astronauts is making a mobile game, but the studio also put an end to that speculation.

Many fans expect The Astronauts to put their game on Kickstarter, and while the developers admitted "it's tempting," they believe the game they're working on is unique enough (without being "crazy" or "experimental") that they would have difficulty explaining it well enough to get fans to fund it.

"It's one thing to get people excited about a remake or a sequel of the game they loved in the past," said the studio, "and it's another to get significant following for the project that's kind of hard to compare to anything else out there." So instead of going the Kickstarter route, the founders are self-funding the game with their life savings.

As for the game itself, The Astronauts said only to "stay tuned for more updates soon."