Lords of the Fallen 2 has a new developer

The sequel to action-RPG Lords of the Fallen is being developed by Defiant Studios, a New York City-based team founded by former Avalanche Studios leads, publisher CI Games announced today.

Defiant Studios was founded in 2016 by David Grijns and Roland Lesterlin, who served as game director and executive producer on Just Cause 3, respectively.

Lords of the Fallen 2 was confirmed in 2015, when CI Games said it was developing a sequel without the involvement of the original developer, Deck13 Interactive. Lords of the Fallen 2 was originally planned for release in 2017, but it sounds like the sequel is still a way off; Grijns said in a statement that Defiant and CI Games have been in discussions for “several months.”

“We talked to a number of globally respected studios that had shown a strong interest in making the next LotF, and received several solid pitches,” said CI Games CEO Marek Tymiński in a news release. “We finally decided to move forward with Defiant because we were impressed with their game concept, production expertise, and the pedigree of their developers. Defiant is made up of some the industry’s most talented creators, and we are thrilled to have them create the sequel to LotF. We look forward to bringing their next big game to the global market on consoles and PC.”

Lords of the Fallen was released in 2014 for PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One. The game, which was heavily influenced by FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, starred Harkyn, a convicted criminal who takes up arms against the demonic Rhogar army. The game’s developer, Deck13, went on to develop The Surge.