The incredible popularity of FromSoftware's Dark Souls franchise saw a number of copycats hit the scene, with various degrees of success. These "Soulslike" games are defined by their tough difficulty and familiar combat mechanics, becoming a genre of their own. In 2014, Deck13 Interactive teamed with CI Games to make the Soulslike Lords of the Fallen, and a sequel has been anticipated in the years since.
Lords of the Fallen reviews weren't nearly as positive as Dark Souls, with the game earning an overall mixed reception from critics. However, Lords of the Fallen does have its fans and sold reasonably well, so it makes sense that CI Games is pursuing a sequel. Lords of the Fallen 2 was first announced all the way back in 2014, and now it seems as though the game is finally nearing its release date.
In a recent investor report, CI Games offered an update on Lords of the Fallen 2's development. The game is being developed by CI Games' internal studio Hexworks, with the current version having been in the works since 2019. CI Games is going to start marketing Lords of the Fallen 2 in Q3 of 2022, with the release date planned for an undetermined point in 2023. Lords of the Fallen 2 is aiming for release on new generation consoles and PC, meaning it's skipping PS4 and Xbox One. According to the report, Lords of the Fallen 2 will be a "fullprice game," though it's unclear exactly what that means. It's possible that it will retail for $59.99, but it may also follow in the footsteps of other new-gen exclusive games and be priced at $69.99 instead.
It's been a long and bumpy road to Lords of the Fallen 2's release. If it manages to meet its 2023 release window, that means fans of the original game will have waited a whopping nine years to play the sequel. This could potentially work against Lords of the Fallen 2, but the explosive popularity of Elden Ring proves that the Soulslike genre is still huge, and so maybe the game can piggyback off that momentum.
Lords of the Fallen 2 has had multiple developers since it started development, but original developer Deck13 Interactive isn't involved in the sequel. After its work on the original Lords of the Fallen, Deck13 stuck with the Soulslike formula, releasing The Surge and The Surge 2 in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Lords of the Fallen 2 is in development.
Source: CI Games