World Makers’ Deceit 2 — Interview Series

World Makers’ Deceit 2 is on the cusp of bringing its online social deduction experience to a myriad of additional platforms, meaning, if you did happen to miss out on its initial launch back in 2023, then you should, with any luck, have full access to the newly revamped F2P game before year’s end.

To get ahead of the curve, we thought we’d check in with the folks over at World Makers, not only to discuss the recent launch of Deceit 2, but to talk about their plans to transform the game into a free-to-play experience for consoles and PC, too.

Before we delve into the history of Deceit, tell us a bit about World Makers. How did it all start for you and the team?

WM: We set up World Makers in 2020, but many of us had worked together on the original Deceit back in 2016, and even before that on RuneScape since 2011. We're a Cambridge, UK-based multiplayer games studio. What excites us is using state-of-the-art immersive games tech to create novel social online experiences. Our first project has been to build a successor to Deceit, which back in 2016-17 was very much a small experimental project for us. We set out to raise the bar on the fidelity and depth of the experience.

Let’s talk about Deceit. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never played it before? Is it something anyone can jump in and play?

WM: Deceit is an immersive social deduction game in an action-horror setting. In each game you'll look out to deduce who you can trust and who is working against you, and based on this try to escape. It combines the thrill of chase/be-chased action gameplay with the strategic social elements of trust and deception.

Take us through the process of building a sequel for Deceit. What was it like to return to the roots of the social deduction blueprint?

WM: We really opened everything up to be re-considered for the sequel, which was a huge challenge. We knew we were going to rebuild the entire game on a new engine, Unreal 5, but also opened the doors to a new Lovecraftian setting, support for more players, more roles, more items and essentially revisited all of the game’s systems.

Since the original Deceit there have been a number of hit games in both the social deduction and online horror genres, but with its uniquely ambitious mix of action, horror, sandbox and deception gameplay, it has been a challenge to refine the blueprint of Deceit.

We ran a number of early tests, alphas and betas in 2023, refining the formula each time, yet with the feedback from the Steam-only launch, we felt there were still some key areas we needed to work on. With the upcoming free-to-play launch, and our first ever launch on consoles, we feel confident that we've brought together all of these aspects into a cohesive product.

Credit: World Makers

And how would you compare it with 2017’s Deceit? Can returning fans who’ve yet to take the plunge expect to see any major changes?

WM: With the changes coming with the F2P launch, we've addressed a huge amount of feedback from Deceit 1 players including the moment-to-moment pacing of the game, performance and the amount of content available. We also continued to refine the controls, effects and animations. Deceit 2 still leans a bit more into social deduction and horror than the more action-gunplay focussed Deceit 1 experience, but we're confident that the latest version will resonate with most Deceit fans.

You’ve recently made the decision to turn Deceit 2 into a free-to-play game, too. Tell us, what brought you to this decision? Will it remain a F2P game for the foreseeable future?

WM: With the initial launch of 2.0 in 2023 we felt we had created a strong core loop, and delivered a deeper experience than the original, but it became clear that we had work to do in some key areas. We especially hadn't yet brought enough to the table for individuals and smaller parties who wanted to play with matchmaking. Despite having a lot more content now, we also wanted to double down on this aspect, which was a strength of the original Deceit and fits best with F2P.

An issue with this was moderation for toxicity and cheating. We've had more time now to prepare for this, though of course that's always an ongoing exercise. Finally, there's been significant demand for F2P from Deceit 1 players. So, Deceit 2 will indeed now remain F2P with paid DLC in a similar fashion to Deceit 1.

So, what’s next for the team? Are there any important dates that we should be taking note of ahead of Deceit 2’s upcoming console launch?

WM: We have regular 2-month seasons planned for Deceit 2, along with another DLC coming this year. We'll be gathering feedback from the launch before we can unveil a more detailed roadmap, but we have a lot in the works!

Credit: World Makers

You’ve clearly found your niche in the online multiplayer space. How do you find it, keeping up with the ever-changing world of online gaming?

WM: We think that finding ways to create memorable moments and moving fast on feedback are the most important elements to keeping up. We don't focus too much on how our niche compares with other games, but we're always on the lookout for the latest tools that help us move faster. When we try out new games we try to focus on the key moments that make the experience compelling and discuss how this relates to our own projects.

Putting Deceit 2 aside for a moment, are there any other projects currently hiding up your sleeve? Are we likely to see another game pop up over the course of the next two or three years?

WM: We do have another ambitious project in the works, and have done for 4 years, so we're hoping to share more about that soon. However, we have a lot more still to deliver to Deceit 2 so we're not quite ready to chat about that yet.

Any final words for our readers?

WM: Our team has been hard at work for years to build something unique and exciting with Deceit 2, but at the end of the day it's your feedback that shapes what we deliver. We're about to launch for free on Steam and consoles, and we'd love for you to check it out!

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, guys!

For all the latest updates on World Makers’ Deceit 2, be sure to check in with the team over on their official social handle here.