Mundfish has had a huge Summer already, thanks to three trailers being shown during Summer Game Fest, including the reveal of Atomic Heart 2.
Given that reveal, as well as the deal that means Mundfish is working with Team CLOUT on ILL, and the fact a multiplayer game called The CUBE was announced as part of the Atomic Heart universe, we thought it’d be a great time to sit down and speak to Rob Bagratuni, Mundfish’s CEO, about the pressures of being one of the stars of SGF, how Atomic Heart 2 will be more open than before, the visual bump it appears to have, narrative, multiplayer, and more.
Let’s get into it, then…
Atomic Heart had hints of Bioshock Infinite about, will the sequel be going for the same vibe? Is it an open world adventure, or a more linear one?
With Atomic Heart 2, we’re significantly expanding on the immersive retro-futuristic vibe that players loved in the first game. Of course, comparisons to BioShock are flattering, but our goal remains the same: to continue carving out our own identity, pushing deeper into the dystopian, retro-futuristic, and surreal aesthetics of the Atomic Universe, and asking new thought-provoking questions about how science and technology influence society. It’s going to be a huge world, full of digitalization, and even though it’s a sci-fi, fictional world, it will feel very believable and alive.
Speaking of world structure, it will definitely be much more open. We’re aware that the open world wasn’t perfect in the first Atomic Heart. We always listen closely to player feedback, and one thing we consistently saw was their desire to return to the flying city of Chelomey, which was limited to story sequences only. That’s why in the sequel, we’re building a more open and interconnected world, designed to increase player freedom, encourage deeper exploration and richer interactions.
It looks like Atomic Heart 2 is going much grander than the original, what kind of challenges came with that? Do more vehicles and a greater focus on traversal mean it’s a bigger game world than before?
The transition to a grander scale came with both technical and creative challenges, particularly ensuring narrative cohesion while maintaining a high level of visual and gameplay fidelity. The locations will indeed be massive, and the challenge isn’t just about expanding the map, but about expanding the perspective through which the story is told – everything needs to feel believable. To bring this vision to life, we’re even collaborating with an architectural firm that is helping us design a vast city for the world of Atomic Heart 2. This firm has previously worked in the UAE, including a number of projects for the royal family where designs often go far beyond the ordinary. So, the metropolis glimpsed in the announcement trailer will become a thoroughly thought-out and believable retrofuturistic city – a place where the triumph of science and technology is embodied.
Another challenge is ensuring that players don’t feel restricted while exploring this city and the wider world. One of the most common pieces of feedback for the first game was that it was difficult to freely explore, as players were constantly forced into combat with the “Kollektiv” system, which endlessly summoned and repaired robots. Although this was done intentionally, to make the player feel the same constant technological threat as the protagonist, we understand that in terms of balance it wasn’t the best solution. This time, we approached this challenge head on, using everything we learned since the beginning of the development of the first game. We’ve evolved as a studio – the technology has matured, the team has expanded, and our creative vision has become even clearer. So, we believe that Atomic Heart 2 will deliver with its vast, living world that players will want to return to again and again.
The narrative was super cool in Atomic Heart, is this a continuation of that?
Absolutely. Atomic Heart 2 directly continues the narrative threads and character arcs from the original game and its DLCs, expanding the universe significantly. The narrative of the first Atomic Heart will conclude with DLC#4, which is currently a key priority for our studio, and Atomic Heart 2 will pick up the story and move it several years forward. With new events unfolding in this retrofuturistic alternate-history universe, Atomic Heart 2 doesn’t just continue the story – it opens the world up and the story becomes not only more complex but also more global. The consequences of the AI and robotics failure from the first game are felt not just locally within Facility 3826, but across our entire dystopian world. The sequel will show how this collapse impacted the world, including on social, cultural, and technological levels. One of the most important things for us – as we expand the universe with new elements – is that we’re committed to staying true to the aesthetic and atmosphere that players loved in the first game. Maintaining authenticity is incredibly important for us.
Speaking about the plot itself, players can be sure that Major P-3’s story will continue, but there will be new characters whose arcs will allow us to explore this world from different perspectives and expand the narrative boundaries. If you watch the announcement trailer carefully, you can see P-3 handing over his weapon to… someone new who is shown from a first-person perspective. You can also spot the Twins and other familiar characters there, so players should expect the return of some fan favorites– at least, those who survive by that point in the story 🙂 We’re carefully crafting the sequel to be accessible for newcomers, but of course, long-time fans will find many narrative connections and deeper explorations of themes introduced in the previous game.
The announcement trailer is stunning, has the game had a graphical boost too?
Definitely. The sequel is being developed on Unreal Engine 5, and everything you see in the trailer was captured in-engine, featuring a mix of gameplay footage and in-game cinematics. Transitioning to UE5 has provided a significant graphical leap forward, utilizing features like Nanite and Lumen to deliver richer details, more realistic lighting, and deeper immersion into Atomic Heart’s unique visual style. Every element – from character models to environmental design – benefits from this technological advancement, making the game visually spectacular and thematically coherent. And we’re exploring these features carefully, always in service of the experience we want to deliver – it’s not just about using the latest tech for its own sake, but rather on how these tools help us create a more grounded, atmospheric, and believable world.
How does it feel to have been part of three announcements during SGF?
It’s incredibly exciting and humbling. Announcing three major titles – Atomic Heart 2, The CUBE, and ILL from Team Clout under the Mundfish Powerhouse label – was a huge milestone for us. We’re proud of these projects and the unique vision each game brings to the table. SGF gave us an amazing platform to showcase our creativity and passion to a global audience, and it was a big personal moment for Mundfish and everyone on the team. We were truly happy to see the incredible reactions and support from players all over the world, and we just can’t wait for them to experience each of these new projects once they’re released – We’re confident all three games will truly surprise and amaze.
Did you worry about making sure all three games were focussed on equally?
We feel pretty confident because the team has grown since the development of the first Atomic Heart – not just in expertise, but also in size. Back then, by the time of its release, our studio consisted of around 80 talented people. Today, the structure is quite different: the team size has tripled, and we now have multiple dedicated teams. Aside from providing comprehensive support to Team Clout on ILL, one of our teams is fully focused on DLC#4 for Atomic Heart 1, which is currently an important priority for us, another is working on Atomic Heart 2, and yet another team is developing The CUBE.
That said, of course, there’s crossover between teams, particularly in areas like narrative, where maintaining consistency across our universe is essential. The same goes for shared characters and cutscene production. Ensuring each game receives the right amount of attention and resources has indeed been a key focus for us, and that’s why each current project is being developed by equally strong teams that are significantly larger than what we had during the development of the first Atomic Heart.
Where does The Cube play into the world of Atomic Heart, narratively?
The CUBE combines its unique rotating world structure, exciting quests, and an intriguing narrative, so it’s not just a sandbox – at its core lies a strong storyline. It’s deeply integrated into the Atomic Universe, taking place some time after the events of the original game and its DLCs. As seen in the announcement trailer, you can expect the return of many familiar characters, including the Twins, Granny Zina, Professor Lebedev, and others.
The CUBE explores the global impact of Facility 3826’s events, introducing a mysterious, shifting megastructure that serves both as a narrative cornerstone and a gameplay mechanic. After its appearance, the Cube becomes a major challenge for scientists all over the world and takes the center of attention – this huge mystery that everyone is trying to solve. Narratively, The CUBE is a very important part of the Atomic Universe and its storytelling, but you don’t have to play Atomic Heart to understand The CUBE – it will be very friendly for newcomers. Of course, when players enter the universe through The CUBE, they’ll have questions like, “What in the hell is going on in this world?”, so they might want to go back and play Atomic Heart to better understand the foundations and nuances of our setting.
Does The Cube mean no multiplayer will be part of the mainline AH-games?
It’s too early to say whether multiplayer elements might also be integrated into some of our other projects in the future, as right now all our efforts are going into creating a unique and distinctive experience with The CUBE, our first dedicated multiplayer game. That said, we’re always open to wild ideas and never want to limit ourselves – anything is possible.
How hands-on are you with ILL, or is it purely a publishing deal?
Just to clarify, we don’t consider ourselves a publisher because the Mundfish Powerhouse label is something much bigger. It’s a full-scale initiative for creative and operational partnership with developers. Within this framework, we provide deep production expertise, access to advanced tools, a proven development pipeline, and active support from concept, all the way to release. We don’t just fund projects, we truly immerse ourselves in development and offer studios comprehensive assistance, doing everything we can to help them successfully deliver their first titles. By getting involved at the early stages, we help build and refine their strategy to maximize the game’s chances of success.
With ILL, it’s also a full-fledged partnership with deep involvement in both the creative process and technical support: from structuring workflows and strengthening the team, to preserving the creative core of the project. Since the beginning of our partnership, Team CLOUT has significantly expanded its staff – growing from 8 people to around 50. They’ve already completed a substantial stage of development, and in the near future, they’ll start sharing more updates about the dark and haunting world of ILL.