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The games and events we’re most looking forward to in 2022

There’s no doubt the last two years have proven to be extremely difficult for the games industry, but we hope that 2022 will prove to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Now January is out of the way, we’re looking forward to the events and new releases we’re most excited about. 

Events 

Gamescom 

Returning in August, Gamescom in Germany will be the acid test as to how much progress we’ve made in the fight against COVID. Anyone who’s attended this before and witnessed to tens of thousands crammed cheek-by-jowl in Koelnmesse’s enormous halls will know that this would never be given the green light if there was any danger. Gamescom usually gives us a first look at some of the most hotly tipped games in the industry, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store. 

E3 

E3 has already announced that it won’t be an ‘in person’ event this year. Switching from a closed-shop industry only affair to an all-embracing consumer focussed event has further confused E3’s relevance. Now that we’re used to virtual events, E3 will have something of a renaissance – one that will see it transform from being a fixed event into a ‘seasonal window’ where the biggest upcoming games get their big reveals online. We are already excited at the prospect of seeing some of the trailers already in production here at REALTIME having their debut there. 

Games 

Dave Cullinane, Executive Producer 

I’m really excited about Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Who knows, perhaps we might even get a sequel to the movie soon? There is also a new God of War game (Ragnarök) and new DLC content for Cuphead from the North American Studio MDHR. It is always exciting to see new developers with quirky game ideas succeed, so it is great to now see Cuphead expand into TV with a new Netflix series in the pipeline for 2022. 

Callum Sibley, Executive Producer 

The Nintendo Switch is the new addition to my console selection, and it only seems fitting that I use it to catch ‘em all in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I’m also hyped that I’ll finally be able to spread the festering influence of Nurgle across the lands in Total War: Warhammer III. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Soulsborne series (& George R. R. Martin!) so I’m excited for the superb combat, sprawling landscapes and immersive lore that will inevitably be part of Elden Ring. Finally, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – a D&D and Borderlands mashup? Say no more. 

The last two years have cemented games as being the biggest and most lucrative type of media in the world today, and it’s interesting to see how games, movies, and TV are increasingly working together to create new immersive experiences. If you’d like to get in touch to talk about your upcoming games projects, we’re here to help. Contact us: [email protected] & [email protected]   

Sea of Thieves: Shrouded Islands

The Sea of Thieves is a wonderous place… and we absolutely loved helping our friends Rare with the cinematic trailer for ‘Shrouded Islands’. This time Shelly the crab takes centre stage!

 

FIFA 22 Team of the Year Trailer

It’s Team of the Year time! We were honoured to support EA SPORTS with range of in-engine shots for their FIFA 22 ‘Team of the Year trailer’, featuring Alex Scott.

REALTIME celebrates 25 years in the business

We are celebrating 25 years of REALTIME – a major milestone for an independent studio in the VFX and animation space. 

Launched in 1996, we started out in Archvis and CG imagery and animation for the automotive sector for clients including McLaren, Audi, and Ford. We soon found a new niche in creating award-winning video game trailers and in-game cinematics for clients across the globe, including Rare, Codemasters, Disney Interactive and Microsoft Game Studios. Our speciality in story-telling and character animation can be seen in viral trailers including SMITE: To Hell & Back, Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming and, more recently, Subnautica: Below Zero. 

In the last few years, we’ve made the move into the broadcast sector, crafting photorealistic VFX and animated characters for shows including BBC’s The War of the Worlds and Sky TV’s A Discovery of Witches. We established a TV VFX department to further support this effort, expanding the size of the studio by 60% in 2021. 

Says Tony Prosser, CEO: “It is an extremely exciting time to be in the CG space, as we are seeing a huge growth in the demand for high-quality content across the automotive, games and broadcast sectors. Being a local home-grown company from the North-West, we are hugely proud of our history and legacy. 

The focus for the next few years will be nurturing fresh talent that can benefit from the well-seasoned experts that we already have at REALTIME. Remote working is key to growing our team and during the pandemic we’ve proven, to ourselves and to our clients, that we can produce world class productions when we’re not all in the same room.” 

In our 25th year, we are also celebrating several award wins and nominations: our work on the second season of A Discovery of Witches is a finalist for Best VFX at the Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards and the viral trailer for Unknown Entertainment’s Subnautica: Below Zero won the Vega Digital Award for Best Animation. Both projects were awarded a ‘special merit’ at the AEAF awards earlier this year. 

Watch the below reel to find out more about how the studio started and our plans for the coming years: