Returnal support studio is working on a new console exclusive

Returnal support developer Climax Studio is working on a "AAA project for a 1st party publisher."

The news comes from Climax Studio's own LinkedIn jobs page, where a job listing seeking a Senior Level Designer boasted the new opportunity. "This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a team of passionate and experienced game designers on a AAA project for a 1st party publisher," the job description reads.

While this admittedly doesn't give away a whole lot of information about the new project beyond the fact it's a console exclusive, it's worth taking into account Climax Studio's history. Previously, the UK-based developer has collaborated with Returnal studio Housemarque on the 2021 PS5 exclusive shooter, as well as PS4 launch title Resogun, and the PS3 port of Dead Nation.

Further back in Climax's history, things get even more intriguing. For those unfamiliar with the extensive history of Konami's Silent Hill series, Silent Hill: Origins was developed as a PSP-exclusive game by Climax Studios, released in late 2007 after Konami had disbanded its own internal Silent Hill team. A few years later, Climax would launch Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, a remake of the original Silent Hill game.

It's interesting then, that with both Returnal and Silent Hill in its extensive history, Climax Studio actually has a storied past of dabbling with horror games. There's nothing to suggest Climax's new venture will be horror-based at this point, but it's still an intriguing bullet point. It's also worth noting that there's actually no reason to suggest this is Climax's own game, and not a collaboration with another studio in a supporting role. Either way, we'll have to wait a little longer to find out for sure.