Image & Form details how they came up with the idea for SteamWorld Quest, says it's launching 'sooner than you think'

Rather than going with a direct sequel, Image & Form has once again decided to shake things up in the SteamWorld franchise with SteamWorld Quest. In an interview with Nintendo Life, Image & Form's Brjánn Sigurgeirsson explains where the team came up with their unique idea for Quest.

Well, SteamWorld Quest started as a pitch from Peter Johansson, the director of the game. While making SteamWorld Dig 2 we decided to do an internal game pitching round for coming title(s), where everyone got to pitch one or more game ideas to the rest of the studio. The plan was that we'd then get together and pick one (or more) for subsequent development. That probably sounds like a marvellous idea and a great exercise in democracy, but it was a lot harder than we expected; not to come up with ideas, but rather to pick the winners. We hadn't set up the criteria properly beforehand and it rather became a great lesson in humility and guilty feelings towards all the runner-up ideas. Nevertheless, SteamWorld Quest perhaps wouldn't have been born without the process.

For a good while, important aspects of the game were quite different than they are now, but then we had one of our proud – internally at least – moments: a marathon meeting where we decided to chuck out what wasn't working and instead make a truly epic game. We had similar moments while making the original SteamWorld Dig and SteamWorld Heist. Not very surprisingly, making epic games is typically better than keeping stuff that doesn't work very well.

Wondering when exactly you'll be able to grab this game? In typical Image & Form fashion, Sigurgeirsson's answer to the question was a playful tease.

Since it's one of the best games you'll play this year, it will certainly be later than you want. But it will also probably be sooner than you think.