A new game set in the Legacy of Kain universe has been announced. The title of this game is Nosgoth. Here’s a short article.
Some other facts gleamed from differing sources:
Nosgoth is in active development.
Nosgoth is not a traditional action-adventure game, unlike all previous Legacy of Kain titles.
Nosgoth is a multiplayer game, again unlike all previous Legacy of Kain titles, with no single-player components.
Nosgoth is not a reboot, and exists within the established Legacy of Kain continuity.
Crystal Dynamics, who either published or developed all previous Legacy of Kain games, are neither developing nor involved with Nosgoth, nor any other Legacy of Kain titles.
Nosgoth is envisaged as a new “branch” in the franchise, akin to the Blood Omen and Soul Reaver sub-series.
Nosgoth has not yet been properly revealed, and will be more formally announced at a later time.
Post-confirmation Q&A Info via George Kelion on Square Enix:
“Making sure that we respect the series canon is something we take very seriously. I know you’ll think I’d say that anyway, but we’re devoted fans of the lore established in the previous games, so it’s only natural we’d want to ensure Nosgoth both complements them and expands upon them. […] I’m all up for having a discussion… but all in good time. Right now, we’re all heads-down and nose to the grindstone in the preparation phase, getting all the various materials in place etc, and we want to make sure that the game feels right before speaking about it more plainly and openly. […] As I told VG247, I’m sorry to be so cagey… we just felt it was important to tell you what Nosgoth isn’t so as to properly manage your expectations. The time to tell you what Nosgoth is will be coming soon, but not just yet.”
“On Nosgoth, I’m the game’s Community Manager - which as a long-time LoK fanboy is pretty much a dream gig! I look forward to discussing my exact involvement so far in greater detail once we’re ready to do so. […] With regards to genre, all I can say right now is that you really shouldn’t be thinking of Nosgoth as a game in terms of a single-player experience.”
“The truth is I don’t know about Amy’s notes, although I know I personally haven’t read them (even though the prospect has me salivating). Even if I did know, I’m not even sure what I’d be allowed to say, especially as Crystal Dynamics aren’t involved with Nosgoth and I assume her notes would be their property. So yes, “i don’t know” is the only answer I can give right now. […] Regarding extraneous information, the answer is “yes” and “no”. “Yes” in the sense that we’ve done our very best to absorb all knowledge about LoK’s narrative as revealed in the games and elsewhere, and “no” in the sense that it’s not really relevant to Nosgoth. As I said in my statement, Nosgoth is very much on a seperate [sic] branch of the LoK mythos to Soul Reaver and Blood Omen (and, by extension, Defiance). It’s definitely the same familiar universe, though.”
“Nosgoth is not a mobile game. Also, we’re mostly influenced by LoK:SR1… make of that what you will.”
“Nosgoth is not open-world.”
“I can tell you truthfully that Nosgoth has been built as an LoK game from the ground up.”
“Inevitably, due to the nature of this game being multiplayer, story will not be as prominent a factor in moment-to-moment gameplay as with previous LoK games, which hopefully will address your point about newcomers. Nevertheless, as fans of the series, it’s our hope that what we are doing within the lore will encourage newcomers to be engaged by the series’ rich backstory and convert them into LoK aficionados. […] Additionally, by having Nosgoth exist on a different branch to SR and BO (but within the same continuity), we’re going out of our way to avoid “butchering” the game and, by extension, the IP.”
The game is supposedly the multiplayer component of the recently cancelled LoK game Dead Sun fleshed out as a full title. If any of you are fans of the series, you may be disappointed with this news. I can understand that. As a longtime fan of LoK, I wanted a follow-up single-player experience to further the story of Kain, not some online fragfest. But it’s been a decade…I had just about given up hope that anything related to the series would ever be looked into again. Beggars can’t be choosers, so I guess this game will have to do…for now. Hopefully this game will (somehow) be popular enough to convince Square Enix to commission an actual continuation to the series.
Plus, the less involved with the story this game is the better. Use established lore correctly, but stay the fuck away from building upon the actual LoK IP without aid from CD.
While Raziel and Kain will be making no appearance, Kelion has cryptically said that the reason is that they are “busy” in the time period in which this game takes place. Perhaps this means the backdrop for the game will be warring clans during Kain’s Empire?