Hexworks and CI Games have shown off their upcoming RPG, Lords of the Fallen, as part of the State of Unreal GDC Showcase. The trailer demonstrates the team's ambitions and the use of Unreal Engine 5 has allowed them "to create the most immersive game experience possible". The game's character customization system is a cumulation of UE5 generated geometry and 3D scans taken from real life human models. The development team states that this allows players to "create unique faces and bodies by dynamically morphing between a huge range of shapes before finessing the finer details."

Unreal Engine 5's Lumen Global Illumination has been put to good use by the team - the game's complex and rich environments are lit in dramatic and atmospheric fashion, all in real time, with an added layer of technical accomplishment due to the player being able to swap between two parallel worlds. Hexworks devised its own custom toolset to enable the seamless shift from Axiom, the realm of the living, to Umbral, the realm of the dead: "This means our artists and designers can ensure these worlds feel intrinsically linked, like two sides of the same coin... even if one side is decidedly more horrific than the other."Readers will likely be confused by this being a sequel to 2014's Lords of the Fallen, yet it lacks a '2' in its title. The older game is now know as "The Lords of the Fallen 2014" on digital stores, for example its Steam page was updated in 2022, after a Gamescom trailer revealed that the new game would assume the original's title. Journalists have observed that CI Games is probably intending to reboot the series due to the large gap in time between releases.

The development of this sequel has been a rocky ride for those involved - the original team - Deck13 - was never announced as working on it, and CI Games sought to take on the project internally from the beginning. Defiant Studios became the primary development team in 2018, only to be removed two years later. CI Interactive formed a brand new subsidiary outfit in 2020, and the Hexworks team has been tasked with taking Lords of the Fallen over the finish line for a loose 2023 launch date.


Lords of the Fallen introduces an all-new, epic RPG adventure in a vast, interconnected world more than five times larger than the original game. After an age of the cruellest tyranny, the demon God, Adyr, was finally defeated. But Gods… do not fall forever. Now, aeons later, Adyr's resurrection draws nigh. As one of the fabled Dark Crusaders, journey through both the realms of the living and the dead in this expansive RPG experience, featuring colossal boss battles, fast challenging combat, thrilling character encounters, and deep, immersive storytelling. Will your legend be one of light… or one of darkness? Dare to Hope.A vast world awaits in all-new, dark fantasy action-RPG, Lords of the Fallen, coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. As one of the fabled Dark Crusaders, embark on an epic quest to overthrow Adyr, the demon god. Add it to your wishlist.