Im Hinblick auf die schwarze Humor rund um Kapital: Dieser Spieltitel wurde dank einer Investition von Tencent wiederbelebt | Entdecke tolle Spiele!
Text | Liu Chongjiang
Redaktion | Liu Shiwu, Guofu
In the near future, human exploration of space has reached a new stage. Super - capital conglomerates have initiated the colonization of planets throughout the universe. As an ordinary member of such a conglomerate, you were sent to a distant star system. However, after waking up from cryosleep following a journey of centuries, you only see a termination notice in front of you.
The humorous termination notice in the game
Abandoned on a distant exoplanet, you have only one choice: Survive and seek revenge. "You must explore every corner, collect various upgrade items, and examine every mysterious exoplanetary rock formation to take revenge on your former employer and perhaps even find a way back to Earth."
This was the introduction to the game "Wild Planet Revenge". The game was released on Steam on May 8, 2025, and costs 140 yuan in the Chinese region. According to the official announcement, the game had over a million players just ten days after its release and was a great success.
Naturally, "Wild Planet Revenge" is not a brand - new game out of nowhere. In 2021, its predecessor, "Wild Planet Journey", received wide recognition after its release on Steam. "Wild Planet Revenge" builds on the predecessor and also integrates even richer gameplay mechanics: from adventure parkour, boss battles, to monster hunting, and even relaxing home decoration.
Poster of the predecessor "Wild Planet Journey"
Interestingly, the development of "Wild Planet Revenge" was not smooth. The real - life story of the development team, Typhoon Studios, even has an interesting "intertextual relationship" with the game's plot. They were originally a team from Google, specifically developing games for the cloud - gaming platform Stadia. But just one month after the release of "Wild Planet Journey", Google suddenly announced the closure of Stadia. Typhoon Studios was not spared, and the entire team was laid off.
Just like the protagonist of "Wild Planet Revenge", the laid - off developers had only one choice: Survive and seek revenge!
Poster of the new game "Wild Planet Revenge"
In the Game and in Reality
After being laid off by Google, Typhoon Studios was at a loss for a long time. No one knew where the team should go. "Wild Planet" was an IP founded by founder Reid Schneider, which he built after leaving large game companies, like a child to him.
"It was a very special moment. We felt that there was still a lot to do. So we wondered what would happen if we reunited the team?"
After some consideration, some founders of Typhoon Studios brought back as many team members as possible and re - grouped themselves independently as "Raccoon Logic". The new team retained 75% of the original members, but only after the re - assembly was completed did they notice the fatal problem: The "Wild Planet" IP still belonged to Google.
Group photo of the main development team of "Wild Planet"
"When we realized that we still wanted to develop games, we found that a new development would be expensive and time - consuming. Since the original source code and our previous work existed, we wanted to buy it back. That would save us about a year of development time."
Of course, Google has no reason to keep the "Wild Planet" IP. Now that the cloud - gaming platform Stadia has gone bankrupt, it will probably just let it gather dust in the archive room. But it won't be easy for Raccoon Logic to get it back. "Google is used to acquiring, but not so much to divesting." If Raccoon Logic wants to start anew, it must first regain the copyright. And what they specifically have to do is quite simple: Pay money.
Maybe they didn't even think that the first problem after the team's re - establishment was to earn money to buy back the "child". Especially in such times, a single cent can hold a hero back.
Picture: The main developers working on game development
At this time, Tencent appeared like a deus ex machina in front of Raccoon Logic. During the team's re - establishment phase, Tencent was the only institution besides the co - founders' funds that provided them with money. In addition, Tencent, through its global network of lawyers and resources, accelerated the process of regaining the "Wild Planet" IP from Google.
In comparison, the condition that Raccoon Logic had to meet at this time was negligible - they just had to develop the game well. Although they received investments, their game development was not restricted by additional intervention clauses and they retained their creative autonomy.
This is mainly related to Tencent's long - standing global investment strategy. For small and medium - sized development studios with distinct characteristics, Tencent often adopts the strategy of "providing resources but not affecting creativity". This also applies to the New Zealand development studio Grinding Gear Games of "Path of Exile 2" and Larian of "Baldur's Gate 3".
The connection between the "Wild Planet" IP and China goes even further.
The first edition of "Wild Planet Journey" already included Chinese subtitles and had a good reputation in China. Unfortunately, the Chinese localization of the predecessor was too influenced by machine translations and there were many translation errors, so players did not have a comfortable gaming experience.
With Tencent's participation, the localization of the game has now truly reached a new level. For example, "Wild Planet Revenge" not only has high - quality Chinese voice - overs but also a costume Easter egg based on Chinese delivery couriers. In this costume, with the exaggerated action performances of the character, Chinese players can have a unique and humorous experience.
The game has a high degree of localization
After learning the story of the development team, one may better understand what the game means by "chaotic events in large companies". And then what happens? Maybe you can already imagine it or already know: "Wild Planet Revenge" has gained over a million players in a short time and achieved a "revenge" in the style of a comeback.
Yes, this is a "revenge" in quotation marks.
Reid still thanks Google for its past support and doesn't really want to take revenge on them. The reason why this situation occurred between them and Google is not complicated. After all, one will realize that Google is "a corporate platform, not a content company", which does not match the team's goals. Tencent's way of respecting creative freedom, bearing costs, and focusing on high - quality content is perhaps the model that the team is most willing to accept. And this is significantly different from the traditional model where companies strive for control or strong influence.
Why did they incorporate the studio's lay - off story into the game? Creative director Alex explained in an interview - people often say: "All similarities to real events are purely coincidental." But it surprises me that so few games say that they are inspired by real stories. Especially in a game like "Wild Planet Revenge", which takes an ironic stance towards commercial utopianism, they found it meaningful to incorporate some personal experiences.
Alex (far right), Reid (second from right)
Therefore, it is better to understand "Wild Planet Revenge" not as a battle cry from Raccoon Logic against Google, but as an ironic stance towards life. Even if you are laid off after a century - long flight, even if life is full of uncertainty and risks, even if work seems as meaningless as in the game, we can still make ourselves a little happier.
This is the underlying design philosophy of "Wild Planet Revenge" - a black comedy that satirizes capital.
Laughter and Anger Turn into Text
Can there be comedy in games?
At the beginning of the development of the first generation of "Wild Planet Journey", the development team asked this question, because there are really too few real comedies in the game industry. Alex said that they believe that in a world with strong systems and rich interactions, the release of tools for players is the source of "fun" and "humor". "This is an interactive physical comedy experience."
Game screenshot of "Wild Planet Revenge"
Based on this design philosophy, comedy elements are the most prominent feature of the two generations of "Wild Planet". They designed the movements of the game protagonist very extravagantly, such as walking with big steps and childishly aiming pistols at each other. All the actions of the character have a kind of "serious nonsense" effect.
From the start of the game, the player can clearly feel this atmosphere. At the beginning on the beach, the first monster one encounters is a waddling fat mushroom. It looks harmless and cute. All the player has to do is just push it away.
Game screenshot of "Wild Planet Revenge"
There are so many such satirical designs in the game.
For example, the "advertisements" as the game's background are also one of the focuses of the developer's comedy. Every time the protagonist returns to the camp, advertisements are seriously played on the screen. The TV advertising style of the 90s combined with the science - fiction design of interstellar travel, this absurd combination always makes people "laugh inexplicably".
Another example is the expansion based on Internet phenomena. Although the game is about an adventure on a foreign planet, suddenly the player is given the task of "becoming an influencer". One has to take selfies at some specific places... Well, it seems that even in space, one should not forget to take pictures and share them on social media.
