Housemarque Appoints Lead Designer For Returnal 2

Housemarque’s Returnal was a solid game, combining its arcade roots with third-person shooter and roguelike elements in one package. This PlayStation 5 exclusive received great praise for its challenging gameplay, immersive atmosphere, and intricate storytelling. The studio, however, went radio silent since the release of Returnal in 2021, except for the game's release on Steam in 2023. In December 2024, there were rumors that Housemarque’s next project, Repeat, was meant to be the codename for Returnal 2.

Even though there hasn’t been any official announcement from either Housemarque or PlayStation Publishing, fans have been expecting an update on Returnal 2. However, this update might not be too far from a recent development since Abebe Tinari, the director of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon was transferred from Japanese studio PlatinumGames to PlayStation's Housemarque. He will be the principal game designer for the next Housemarque game. Tinari has updated his LinkedIn profile to add Housemarque. However, what he will be working on is still currently unknown. We can only hope that it’s Returnal 2.

While it’s still a guess, a job posting last year for a senior game designer indicated that Housemarque is working on an AAA action game that includes boss fights. What we know about the director explicitly is that they worked at Platinum Games for eleven years, or somewhat more than that. They started working on English localization for Bayonetta 2. He served as director for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. Other games he worked on include Granblue Fantasy: Relink, a very good game, Star Fox Guard, and the unreleased Xbox exclusive Scalebound.

So, someone with extensive experience may undoubtedly provide significant value to Housemarque. Though Sony confirmed that PS3 games will be arriving on PS5, we can’t discard the idea that Tinari might also be involved in Housemarque’s PlayStation 3 titles, such as Super Stardust HD, Dead Nation, Angry Birds Trilogy, and Resogun. Though given Returnal’s huge success and the sky-high anticipation for Returnal 2, PlayStation would want the sequel to hit the market first before reviving the PS3 titles.

We're curious to see what Abebe Tinari will bring to the table with such a high roll. It’s anticipated that Housemarque will take a fresh approach for their upcoming game. Whatever it is, we expect they will reveal some details about this project in the coming days, perhaps at the upcoming State of Play since Sony won’t be hosting any PlayStation Showcases in 2025. Considering he was recently appointed as a lead designer, we doubt it will happen soon.

And we believe that several other PlayStation titles from Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog, and possibly Santa Monica Studios will be released first. Santa Monica appears to be further away than expected. We expect a lot of these studios to show up first before we see the next Housemarque game, assuming they're going for something even more ambitious than Returnal, which we believe they said they were going to go even bigger with their next title because Returnal was such a success for them.