The creator of Just Cause 2 is releasing a new action game, Samson, and asks not to compare it to GTA

Game industry veteran Christopher Sandberg, known for his work on Just Cause 2, is preparing to unveil his new project, the crime action game Samson: A Tyndalston Story. Liquid Swords, the studio founded by Sandberg, is putting the finishing touches on the game before its release, but the developer himself is quick to cool gamers' ardor, warning that their creation isn't a competitor to Grand Theft Auto and isn't a AAA blockbuster.

In an interview with Wccftech, Sandberg and game designer David Young discussed the project in detail. They described it as a mid-budget action game that emphasizes action, a tense atmosphere, and engaging gameplay, rather than a massive open-world or endless content variety. The developers deliberately limited their ambitions to focus on the quality of key elements.

The game features eight different mission types, four of which feature active vehicle play. Thirty combat zones are scattered throughout the city of Tyndalston, where the game takes place, some of which also involve the use of vehicles. Individual missions include unique mechanics designed to add variety to the gameplay. A curious detail is the name of the protagonist's car, the Magnum Opus, a direct reference to the cult action game Mad Max, which Sandberg himself once helped develop.

The founder of Liquid Swords also spoke about the dire state of the modern gaming industry, which he calls the worst in his career. He attributes the crisis to the rampant buying up of studios in 2021–2023, when major companies were buying up studios and recklessly investing in everything. The industry is now reaping the consequences of those poor decisions. Notably, in 2021, just a year after Liquid Swords' founding, Chinese giant NetEase invested in his studio, and Sandberg still notes with gratitude that such a corporation trusted an indie team.

Samson: A Tyndalston Story is scheduled to premiere on April 8th. PC players will be the first to experience the game via Steam and the Epic Games Store, but the developers promise a console release as well.