Dustborn: Everything We Know

If Sunset Overdrive, Hi-Fi Rush, Thirsty Suitors, and Road 96 had, by some random miracle, conceived a child, then we like to imagine that it would look a whole lot like Red Thread Games’ upcoming comic book-style action-adventure title, Dustborn. In other words, there’s a new type of road trip on the horizon, and it’s currently enticing us with a treasure trove on punk rock anthems, baseball bat-infused encounters, and a whole series of anarchic adventures across a “Divided States of America.” Sounds all rather promising, no?

Dustborn hasn’t been given a concrete release date yet, but Red Thread Games and Quantic Dream have gone as far as to release a tapestry of details on the IP. Care to join us as we delve deeper into the unruly world of Dustborn? Here’s everything we can currently tell you about it.

What Is Dustborn?

In the words of its creators, “Dustborn is a single-player, story-driven action-adventure game about hope, love, friendships, robots…and the power of words.” As such, players can expect to tangle with a myriad of scenarios, few of which will conjure head-to-head battles with a comic book-inspired twist, episodic tales, and dialogue-based action. Think Thirsty Suitors, but with less suitors, and more, you know, corporate drones with assault rifles. Think of that, and then throw in the basic setup for a punky road trip, and you’ll have a rough idea of what it’s getting at.

“Dustborn is a game about a particular group of friends: immigrants, exiles, outcasts, misfits, outsiders, refugees,” Red Thread Games told Push Square back in 2020. “It’s about people who stand apart from society, rather than being part of it, and who are looking for a way out, the road to a better life and more rewarding future. And yes, we wanted this group of people to reflect not just the diversity of America, but the diversity of our players: ethnically, culturally, sexually, religiously, in terms of gender roles and identities, and economic status. Our greatest hope is that we can reach and touch players who aren’t used to seeing someone who looks or sounds like them in a video game, and to perhaps make them feel seen and heard.”

Story

Remember how we initially said that the game looked a bit like Road 96? Well, as it turns out, Dustborn bears a similar setting: a politically charged alternate version of the United States, and one that just so happens to have more ragtag characters than the average John or Jane. The only difference here, however, is that you won’t be filling the shoes of a runaway teen, but an undercover courier, one whose job is to travel across the country whilst also disguised  as a punk-rock band.

“You play Pax: exile, con-artist, Anomal — with the ability to weaponize language,” the blurb reads in part. “Looking for a new life and a way out, Pax has been hired to transport an important package from Pacifica to Nova Scotia, across the Justice-controlled American Republic. Sounds like a legit reason for a road-trip, right? So pack your bags, assemble a crew with their own peculiar powers, and get ready to travel the country!”

Gameplay

At its core, Dustborn will feature a rich story-driven campaign that’ll see players traversing a “dozen” locations around an alternate America. In each of said locations, the game will supply opportunities to both flesh out your band with new characters and abilities, as well as “manage relationships, complete missions, and face increasingly difficult challenges.”

“Explore the stunning Neo-Western landscapes of an alternate history America on a robot-driven tour bus, and stop at a dozen locations along the road to build your crew, manage relationships, complete missions, and face increasingly difficult challenges,” the game’s description reads. “But the people you stole the package from want it back, and the authoritarian Justice is hot on your heels, so don’t forget to pack your baseball bat!”

Development

Red Thread Games first announced its plans to bring Dustborn to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC back in 2020, at which point the team lifted the veil on a slew of early gameplay previews and screenshots. Since making the initial pitch, the game has been shown at several events, with the most recent being at Gamescom 2023’s Opening Night Live.

In case you missed out on the announcement, Dustborn is to be Red Thread Games’ third major IP, with the studio’s earlier games being Dreamfall Chapters, and Draugen. Moreover, Quantic Dream, a firm best known for titles such as Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, will also be adding its own assets to help publish the game on its chosen platforms.

Trailer

If you’re interested in seeing even more of the upcoming action-adventure game, then be sure to check out the official teaser trailer that aired back in 2020. You can also find a whole bunch of newer previews on Red Thread Games’ official channel here.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Dustborn will be heading to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam in “early 2024.” Going by that, we can expect to see it arrive on its chosen platforms at some point between January and May of this year. That is, of course, providing that Red Thread Games don’t run into any issues along the way, anyway.

When it comes to launch editions, Dustborn will only have the one standard version. You can go ahead and add that to your wishlist on all major consoles via their respective store handles. Alternatively, you can add it to your wishlist on Steam here.

Interested in staying up to date with Red Thread Games’ upcoming action-adventure title? If so, then be sure to check in with the team over on their official social handle for all the latest updates here. If anything changes ahead of its hopeful 2024 release, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Dustborn when it arrives on its chosen platforms? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.