"Xbox is mistaken," says indie publisher teasing "what's next" for its mega-hit biking roguelike, because "Descenders 2 does not exist"

Descenders, the extreme free riding roguelike, is getting a follow-up of some kind, even as its publisher insists that "Descenders 2 doesn't exist."

Publisher NoMoreRobots' company director Mike Rose announced the yet-unnamed sequel in an interview earlier this year with PCGamesN, affirming that original studio RageSquid is back in the development chair. "They're just three guys and it's been played by 20 million people or something like that," Rose said at the time.

Originally pitched as a spin on "Spelunky on bikes," Descenders became a sleeper hit when it came out in 2019 and has attracted millions more downhill biking adrenaline seekers during its years on Game Pass and PS Plus. It was an odd and soothing mash-up that had you leaning into sharp turns and rocketing down narrow trails so fast that trees would either whistle past your ear or slam right into you, with some tough roguelike progression and procedural generation thrown in.

Despite an Xbox Gamescom announcement that said Descenders 2 would be on the show floor, Rose was quick to respond with the at-first confusing tweet below, saying "Xbox is mistaken" because "'Descenders 2' does not exist,'" and he's asked the publisher to "remove it from the list." Rose is likely playing up the joke since he previously confirmed the sequel wouldn't have a "2" at the end. 

In the aforementioned interview from March, Rose also said he was talking to various parties to collaborate on its imminent announcement: "Soon, something Descenders-y is going to happen." 

We won't need to wait too much longer to hear something about New Descenders, it turns out. The game's official website is counting down the hours to a 'What's Next For Descenders?' video premiering on August 8 that will probably either tease or announce the follow-up, before we presumably see more of the project at Xbox's Gamescom booth.

We thought Descenders carried on the legacy of games like Tony Hawk SSX and Skate by nailing the rush of extreme sports, even in early access.