Pacific Drive Announced During September State of Play

A driving rogue-lite is coming to PC and PS5 in 2023

Sony’s quarterly showcase, State of Play, returned this month with plenty of new announcements and updates. Generally, these shows consist of new title premieres as well as updates on upcoming games, with a few tech and accessory news bits as well. One new project announced this show was Pacific Drive, and the art style and gameplay model have many curious about this debut from Seattle-based Ironwood Studios.

According to Pacific Drive’s site, the game is a survival title with driving being an essential component of the experience. Players will be in a first-person view, going on exploratory runs in the Pacific Northwest to obtain gear and parts for their vehicle, which according to the trailer looks to be a type of station wagon. In the trailer, the car seems to interact with the player, alerting them to certain instances of anomalies and danger nearby. These runs seem to happen both inside the car and on foot, though most of the gameplay shown consisted of driving during chaotic storm-type events.

Little of the story was revealed besides sparse dialogue hints. What was revealed was that within the Pacific Northwest there is an area known as the “Olympic Exclusion Zone” that contains many of these abnormalities. Ironwood is stating that the majority of the interactions will be between the player and the car, and players can upgrade both the car and the home garage to their liking. To supplement the narrative, Pacific Drive’s score is conducted by Wilbert Roget II and contains over 15 licensed musical tracks. For reference, Roget has conducted scores from games such as Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty: WWII.

Ironwood Studios is a relatively new development group out of Washington. Founded in 2019, its 19-person team touts a diverse background and work history. Based on their studio page, team members have previously worked on projects such as Halo: Infinite, Bioshock Infinite, and Don’t Starve. Ironwood states that its development focus is on games offering “surreal settings and compelling gameplay.”

Pacific Drive is slated for a 2023 release on both PC and PS5. To keep up with news and development, you can follow Ironwood Studios on Twitter and Instagram. Let us know in the comments below if this game intrigues you!