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Summer showcases often carry a mix of expected and unexpected announcements, and Gundam Rogue Orbit was certainly the latter. Its graphical style and tone seemed like something else entirely, until visual hallmarks like the floating bits, visor, and robotic Haro pal confirmed it was all Gundam.
We didn’t learn too much from the initial trailer and subsequent store page listing for Gundam Rogue Orbit, outside of it being a “fast-paced cinematic story with intense, hard-hitting combat in an all-new universe.” A few of those keywords jumped out at me, though, and I got the chance to sit down with Gundam Rogue Orbit chief producer Shinya Satake and main producer Yuya Tomiyama to elicit a few more hints and details.
Satake tells me that the mission of Gundam Rogue Orbit is to bring Gundam to not just fans of the series, but those who don’t know Gundam; thus, a brand-new Gundam universe with brand-new characters.
“Gundam as an IP is very big and it’s very important to us, and it’s become a big accumulation of the decades of work by all these talented creators and staff,” Satake says. “We’re very excited and honored to be passed the baton to create a new entry in the Gundam universe.”
A recurring theme in my interview is appealing to action game fans. Though they didn’t cite any specific games, there is a desire to have this game appeal to fans Gundam had not yet reached.
“Our main points of focus, regarding the action in this game, is that it truly feels good and satisfying to play for the player,” Tomiyama says. “And we feel that is the main way that we can reach these fans of action games. Another thing that we realized we wanted to focus [on] is that the Gundams often fight on the ground and fight in the air. We wanted that transition to be very seamless as well, and we just really wanted to focus on the […] satisfying feel that the player would have, playing the action game.”
You might notice in the trailer and screenshots that the Gundam’s foes look particularly strange. Rather than other traditional Mobile Suits, like a Zaku or GM, the pictured foes have multiple limbs and animalistic parts, resembling beasts like dragons and scorpions. The producers declined to elaborate on some aspects of their design, as that would have story implications planned to be discussed at a later date. Tomiyama did confirm, however, that their design focus started with trying to make enemies that would be fun to fight in an action game.
Similarly, the visual style is also trying to draw in those estranged action game players. Tomiyama highlights the lead character, Rex, as someone the player can “put themselves in the position of,” and experience the game through his eyes. (The other pictured character, Sophia, has too many story implications to delve into at this moment, according to the producers.) But the look of Gundam Rogue Orbit is, like other aspects, designed to reach the unreached.
“We didn’t exactly target a specific region, but we definitely just wanted to create the game for a more worldwide fanbase,” Tomiyama says. “And because we’re able to create a more photorealistic game, a photorealistic Gundam, that hasn’t really been done before. We really hope [this] resonates with the worldwide fans. But the first overall objective of this game is to create a satisfying action game.”
It looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to see what exactly Gundam Rogue Orbit is, but the angle of appealing to action game fans is certainly intriguing. Gundam’s international popularity has waxed and waned over the years, often driven by breakthrough series like Gundam Wing or The Witch From Mercury. Yet right now, on its current updraft, it does seem like a great time to take a stab at the unconverted, especially as mech-driven action series like Armored Core see a revitalization. Hopefully, we’ll get some firmer details in the coming months, as Gundam Rogue Orbit targets a 2027 landing.
