Dead Cells dev says 2023 will be "by far" the game's biggest year since launch

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The studio says it's "stepping things up" with more Dead Cells this year and next

Dead Cells
(Image credit: Evil Empire)

Dead Cells studio Motion Twin is putting to bed rumors that the game is nearing the end of its lifespan following the latest DLC, The Queen and The Sea.

According to Motion Twin, 2023 will be "by far" the indie roguelite's biggest year since it launched out of Early Access almost four years ago. To make the case, the studio has provided an updated roadmap teasing "new stuff to play with" sometime this winter and "the most exciting year in Dead Cells' history" in 2023.

"We're taking a little breather from constant alpha/beta/update announcements to kill off the belief that, with the latest DLC 'The Queen and the Sea', we are at or near the end of Dead Cells' lifetime," reads an update on the game's Steam page. "We can see how people ended up thinking this, but reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated."

(Image credit: Evil Empire)

Later on in the announcement, Motion Twin suggests Dead Cells is in the middle of its development cycle, which is a welcome surprise for fans considering how long it's been out already.

"What we're getting at here is that we're very much in the mid-life of Dead Cells. We're not sneaking out at night to get drunk on street corners anymore, but we've still got plenty of life in us before our knees start to give in, so prepare yourselves for more Dead Cells content."

With the way the update is worded, it's unclear exactly what's in store for Dead Cells in 2023. It might be a bridge too far to speculate about a potential sequel, but it almost certainly means another big expansion is on the way, or at least something on the scale of it, most likely in the form of paid DLC. Still, it's not unreasonable to look forward to the studio's next project - whatever that may be - especially since the wording of this announcement is so vague.

For everything indie on the horizon, check out our guide to new indie games of 2022.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.