Lately there’s been a trend among developers of announcing a new game many months or even a year before its studio is ready to share any details. It’s certainly strange just how many of these games there are: Elden Ring, The Elder Scrolls 6, Avowed, the Fable and Perfect Dark reboots, and so on. Square Enix became party to this trend a few months ago when it announced Project Athia. A brand new game franchise being started up by Square Enix is a big deal, so of course this mysterious title turned a lot of heads. Unfortunately, Square Enix has said next to nothing about it since.
One thing that sets Project Athia apart from all its fellow mystery games is its name. Fans can be quite certain that Elden Ring and Fable are going by the names that each wears when each releases. However, Project Athia is going by a working title for now. Making Project Athia public knowledge while it’s still under a working title is a rather odd move by Square Enix and Luminous Productions. It seems more logical to wait until a name is nailed down, but instead it released an early trailer. Why would Square Enix want to rush ahead this way?
There’s certainly some risks associated with announcing Project Athia before it had a proper name. For one thing, if this is only a working title, then it’s going to change inevitably. That might turn out to be confusing for publicity and advertising. For instance, Immortals: Fenyx Rising was known as Gods and Monsters for most of its time in development, but changed names at the last minute, resulting in some surprise and confusion among fans. Ideally Project Athia would change its name faster than Immortals: Fenyx Rising did, but so far Square Enix’s project has been known by this codename for eight months.
Announcing under a codename also suggests that Project Athia is still really early in development. Making Project Athia public when it still has a lot of developing to do is questionable. It puts attention and pressure on the developers, who might have preferred to have more time to nail down details of the game before going public with it. Some recent information has suggested Project Athia will release in about a year, but it’s hard to say if that’s certain. If the game really is almost halfway to its release date, though, hopefully Square Enix has its real title lined up for reveal soon.
It certainly isn’t all bad that Project Athia has come forward under its development title. No doubt Square Enix thought this move over and announced it this way intentionally. There’s certainly some benefits to the working title too. Knowing that the title doesn’t necessarily tell players anything gives the game a sense of mystique. Fans are bound to be watching this game more closely than some other far off titles, hoping to find out what exactly to expect. It keeps players guessing and gives the developers the chance to deliver surprises.
Project Athia as a codename also gives Square Enix and Luminous Productions more creative liberty while chugging on in development. This working title doesn’t promise anything, and ultimately, it could have next to nothing to do with the end result. It doesn’t raise expectations in any way that the developers have to try to match.
It’s not hard to believe that Square Enix is still feeling out the direction of Project Athia. It may have already developed acclaimed, sprawling stories via Final Fantasy, but Square Enix still has every right to take Project Athia slow and steady. In fact, by easing the game through development, it’s more likely to get the quality it’s known for. Project Athia‘s working title is odd and mysterious, but it’s sure to just be the cover for an intricate, carefully created game.
Project Athia is in development.
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