Redwood City, CA – March 22, 2023 – Today, Gearbox Publishing and Magic Design Studios announced Have a Nice Death, the darkly charming 2D action roguelike, has officially launched digitally on Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam and Steam Deck) for $24.99. After a successful year-long run in Steam Early Access, it’s time for millions of mortals from around the world to don their cloak and grab their scythe as they take on the role of Death Incorporated’s CEO, Death, and experience the complete version of this hack’n’scythe adventure. With the full release, players can explore eight procedurally generated departments (worlds) where they’ll meet a diverse cast of characters and utilize over 70 weapons and spells to get Death Inc. back in order.
“All of us at Magic Design Studios are beyond ecstatic for all mortals to finally jump into the full game and join Death Incorporated,” said Simon Dutertre, Lead Game Designer at Magic Design Studios. “Development on Have a Nice Death has been incredible – from our big announcement at the Game Awards to releasing the game in Early Access -- the support we’ve received means so much to us. We’d like to especially thank our Early Access players who have given us such valuable feedback – which helped us not only make the hack’n’scythe adventure we wanted, but what roguelike fans wanted as well. Whether you’re new to Have a Nice Death or you’ve been playing it since it launched in Early Access, we hope you enjoy your time in Death Inc.!”
“Magic Design Studios has created an unforgettable roguelike that represents the studio’s unbelievable creativity and decades of experience designing games,” said Yoon Im, President of Gearbox Publishing San Francisco. “All of us at Gearbox Publishing are proud of what the studio has accomplished. From day one, we have believed and supported the team’s mission for crafting a roguelike that’s unlike any other in the genre. With Have a Nice Death’s darkly charming art style, dark comedy narrative, interesting cast of characters and fast-paced combat, we believe it’s a unique roguelike that any fan of the genre will enjoy.”
For new Death Inc. recruits who need a quick refresher on the game, Have a Nice Death is a delightfully dark action roguelike adventure, which has you assume the role of Death, leader of the underworld corporation responsible for processing souls in the afterlife. As the company’s supreme leader, you will explore the darkly charming, procedurally generated departments of the corporation’s headquarters to round up and rehabilitate rogue associates who have been ignoring company protocol and snatching up far too many souls on Earth. Getting the department bosses—also known as Sorrows—and their minions under control, however, is a difficult task and will require multiple runs to complete. Luckily for you, you have an arsenal of over 70 weapons and spells, along with an array of powerful upgrades, you can find to get the job done and show everyone who’s boss!
With the full release of Have a Nice Death today, this is the complete “Death Inc. seal of approval” version of the darkly charming roguelike. The launch includes a haul of new content introduced in today’s Launch Update, and it includes all the delightfully morbid content from previous major updates that fans have loved in the Early Access version of the game (see a list of changes made since Early Access here). For Early Access players concerned about starting from scratch with the full version of Have a Nice Death, fear not – you can use your Early Access save file(s).
Thanks to the Launch Update that brings new content available for the first time today, you’ll find the eighth department of Death Inc., the Inevitable Time Department. This new department is packed with deadly goodies, including new bosses, enemies and weapons, the ending of the game’s main storyline, “quality-of-death" gameplay improvements and much more. At Death Inc., rumor has it that there are several secrets to uncover in this department as well...
Below is a detailed list of game features for the 1.0 launch version of Have a Nice Death available today:
- Welcome to Death Incorporated – Discover and explore the eight darkly-charming, procedurally-generated departments of Death Inc., where you’ll meet a diverse cast of memorable characters—like your affable pumpkin-headed assistant, Pump Quinn—who are always willing to share the latest office gossip.
- Reap What You Sow – Sharpen your skills (and scythe) through fast-paced hack n’ slash combat, utilizing over 70 unique weapons and spells you can find and upgrade to create devastating combinations.
- Death Never Sleeps – Since Death can’t die, use what you’ve learned and earned to overcome the numerous minions and bosses in each department of Death Incorporated... over and over. A performance review after every run guarantees that you’ll unlock interesting items and upgrades that will help you progress on your journey.
- When Life Gives You Curses – Taking more power for yourself is a controversial move in Death Incorporated’s company culture. For instance, adopting a Curse upgrade for yourself might result in the Labor Inspector granting your subordinates enhanced powers, or worse, raising the cost of koffee and other items that are vital to your work output.
- Prove You’re the Best Underworld Boss – After completing your first adventure across Death, Inc. there's still work that needs to be done to prove you’re the best boss there is. From completing special challenges and trying out recently-unlocked difficulty modes that feature unique modifiers to earning rewards to complete your Pitbook by getting all the weapons, spells, curses and upgrades – your “to-do” list is far from completed.
- You Call the Shots – Make your playthrough the most optimal experience that’s right for you, boss. With various accessibility options at your disposal, including adjusting sound and language settings, and full controller remapping functionality support -- you’re free to fully customize your experience before hacking’n’scything away.
ABOUT GEARBOX PUBLISHING
Founded in 2016, Gearbox Publishing was established with the goal of helping developers around the world bring their products to market while retaining their unique creative visions. The mission began with the critically-acclaimed Homeworld Remastered Collection for PC, and has since been followed by many partnerships that include Hello Neighbor, Astroneer, We Happy Few, Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, Remnant: From the Ashes, the Torchlight series, Have a Nice Death, Risk of Rain 2, Tribes of Midgard, and PlayStation® 5 launch title, Godfall. Gearbox Publishing remains committed to its mission to entertain the world and become the most developer-friendly publisher in the industry. The Gearbox Entertainment Company is a proud member of the Embracer Group AB family of companies, which is publicly traded at Nasdaq First North (EMBRAC B). For more information, visit www.gearboxpublishing.com.
ABOUT MAGIC DESIGN STUDIOS
Magic Design Studios is an indie game studio located in Montpellier, France -- a mecca for video game developers in France. Originally established in 2015, the studio’s mission is to build exciting worlds and offer unforgettable experiences for players. The core development team has decades of experience in the video game industry, after working on titles like Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, Raving Rabbids, Rayman, and Splinter Cell with Ubisoft. Magic Design Studios launched its flagship game, Unruly Heroes, in 2019. This award-winning platformer was inspired by the Chinese novel, Journey to the West.
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