NearStudios unveils Hawthorn co-op sandbox RPG with animals

Former Bethesda game developers have announced their indie game studio, NearStudios, and their debut game called Hawthorn.

Hawthorn is a nostalgic co-op sandbox role-playing game with animals as the characters. It has a creative mixture of cozy gameplay with more realistic looking animated creatures and environments.

Potomac, Maryland-based NearStudios (spelled NEARstudios by the firm) is led by Heather Cerlan, CEO and creative director, as well as cofounder Jason Richardson, game director.

“We had to idea of blending the charm and the accessibility of a cozy game with the depth and visual appeal of a core RPG,” Cerlan said in an interview with GamesBeat.

Hawthorn

She said that early play testers have described it as “an intimate Skyrim sandbox meets a Stardew Valley village simulation.” Hawthorn promises to bring friends together into an immersive and charming world where everyone can determine their player experience while being incentivized to work together towards shared objectives.

You can play as characters such as a mouse, owl or more. The mouse can mount the back of the owl or eagle and you can go flowing around the beautiful bucolic environment. There will be more playable characters coming. The name comes from the Hawthorn tree, which has been associated with philosophies, outlooks and superstitions over time and across cultures.

“We’re mostly interested in how it’s known as the faries tree,” Cerlan said. “In some literature, it’s been known to be a tree that they protect, and that it’s the portal to their magical world.”

A seasoned team

The team includes industry veterans such as Bruce Nesmith, the lead designer of Skyrim, who has taken time out of retirement, where he’s been focused on writing his LitRPG series Glory Seeker, to lend his extensive sandbox systems expertise to the project. The team also features developers with experience on triple-A titles like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Last of Us, Ultima Online, League of Legends, and Fallout, among others.

Cerlan said that Hawthorn is a unique fairytale-inspired fantasy. In particular, it’s inspired by Victorian-era European fairytales and the spirit of 80s and 90s adventure stories featuring anthropomorphic animals.

Hawthorn offers a rich fantasy world where woodland creatures and fairy beings coexist in a complex, layered sandbox. Players will have the opportunity to build a village, forge relationships with endearing NPCs, and explore a world that is both familiar and refreshingly new.

Despite the triple-A pedigree, the team operates as a small, indie outfit, currently bootstrapping Hawthorn.

“We’re relishing the freedom to explore new creative possibilities and build a genuine relationship with our players,” said Cerlan. “This is our passion project, and we are putting everything we have into it. We have a strong vision, and we can’t wait to develop it alongside our community.”

NearStudios is committed to crafting games that foster connection and collaboration. With Hawthorn, they aim to create a world where players of all interests can work together toward common goals.

NearStudios is inviting players to join them on the journey to create Hawthorn. The studio is committed to involving players and creators early in the development process, offering unique insight into the challenges and triumphs of bringing an ambitious game to life.

“In Hawthorn, everything—from crafting to adventuring—is centered around a living village of NPCs and your co-op friends,” said Richardson, in a statement. “We want to evoke the nostalgic joy and wonder of shared adventures, much like the timeless stories and simple pleasures that connect us across generations.”

A new era of game development

As the gaming industry faces challenges like funding shortages, layoffs, and studio closures, NearStudios is proud of its passionate team and the mission to innovate alongside a tight-knit community. The devs believe that the future of gaming lies in the hands of smaller, dedicated studios willing to break new ground.

You can Wishlist Hawthorn now on Steam. Stay updated on Hawthorn’s development, get exclusive insights, and participate in the community by following the game on social media, or joining the Discord.

The team has been working hard for a year and a half. Cerlan has had to assemble a team of freelancers who have helped the company get to this stage. She said the game received positive feedback from hundreds of content creators at TwitchCon a couple of weeks ago.

“Our strategy is to keep our heads down, build the community, and build the game,” Cerlan said. “The community is very passionate and excited about it. We have a lot of momentum from that and hopefully it will keep on growing.”

It’s a co-op title in part because Cerlan felt like there weren’t enough games on the market that allowed couples to play together, particularly those with very different play styles.

“There’s a dynamic where there’s a cozier counterpart and we’re more like a hardcore gamer in the mix, and there’s not a really whole lot of immersive games on the market that allow these two playstyles to come together,” Cerlan said. “When I reached out to Jason, it turned out that he was also interested in starting a company and he had been thinking about the same exact problem. We were thinking about a world and a visual style that would appeal to both of those groups.”

It’s interesting that Richardson is working on something that is cozy, as much of his background has been in combat design. They had previously worked together at Bethesda and began prototyping. Recognizing the market was tough, they pivoted to a simpler design.

“That’s where we are right now,” Cerlan said.

The team is thinking about harmonizing the playstyles, and that may make it unlike any other game on the market, Cerlan said. At the moment, the game is envisioned as a sandbox with a lot of side quests where players can express themselves.

More internal playtesting is on the way and a public demo is expected sometime next year. The company has had some angel funding but it is largely bootstrapped.

“We’re thankful for everybody’s help,” Cerlan said.