I’m trying to do something so ambitious Ara: Untold Story – and the further development of the strategy area – is a major challenge. From writing an entirely new engine, to detailed art design, to designing the living world, to recording hours of live music; Ara: Untold StoryThe sheer scale probably would not have been possible without the right support.
“Microsoft has been a great partner. Games – even when you know they’re super fun and have a huge community – often don’t always have the most resources put into them. Or you have the biggest budget but sometimes a very short production schedule. Working with Microsoft was great in this regard. “What do you want to do in the genre space and we will help you achieve those things…” whereas at other companies we would never have had that kind of scope or support.”
Ara: Untold Story will be released in fall 2024 for Windows PC and Steam and will be available with PC Game Pass from day one. I asked Menard what she thought about having such a mature community to dive into and start playing from launch day:
“It’s actually a great, great thing. Getting into such grand strategy games can often be intimidating. While some newer players express interest, you also have to convince them to buy it – and that can be a step too far. With something like Game Pass, they have the opportunity to continue playing right from day one. We’ve always wanted to expand the large strategy market with this title to new players who have never tried it before, and I think that’s really only possible because it will be available on Game Pass.”
I also asked Menard what her vision for the game is, roughly five years from now where she hopes Ara: Untold Story is in the realm of so many other great strategy games.
“I definitely hope that in five years we’re still doing different expansions and more DLC and starting to expand the game in even more crazy directions,” she says. “We have so many ideas for different, even more leaders and other types of crazy triumphs – just give players even more diverse experiences that you just wouldn’t get in the traditional strategy space.”
