Summary

  • Lightspeed LA, a subsidiary of Tencent's LightSpeed Studios, is developing Last Sentinel, a cyberpunk-themed open-world game.
  • The game features a dystopian future version of Tokyo, where robots attempt to invade an orphanage, but are fought off by the protagonist Hiromi Shoda.
  • Last Sentinel is expected to offer a unique cast, environment, story, and gameplay experience.

Upstart studio Lightspeed LA has revealed its first major title, Last Sentinel, a slick cyberpunk-themed open-world game. The game was announced via a cinematic trailer during this year's Game Awards.

The pedigree behind Last Sentinel is nothing to scoff at. It's being developed by Lightspeed LA, the California branch of one of Chinese giant Tencent's game development divisions LightSpeed Studios, which is headed by game industry veteran Steve C. Martin. Martin has over 25 years of experience handling AAA titles, including Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, Need For Speed: Underground 1 and 2, and Bully. The Lightspeed LA team itself has members who have worked on games such as God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Jedi: Fallen Order, to name a few. Tencent has been pretty aggressive within the game industry as of late, and Last Sentinel could be one of its biggest pushes in the mainstream.

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Last Sentinel's almost two-minute trailer gives a good glimpse of what the game is about. Set in a dystopian future version of Tokyo, a group of menacing robots surround and try to force their way into what looks like an orphanage tended by more human-like androids. As the invaders almost get through, another woman—referred to as "The Demon" by one of the nanny androids, and who appears to be the game's protagonist Hiromi Shoda—appears and guns them down to save the children, leading them into the rainy night.

Last Sentinel was reported to be in development back in January 2022 as a cinematic open-world game and original IP, though after two years, there's still not much to say and glean from this first look. For what it's worth, Lightspeed LA said that the game will feature a unique cast, environment, story, and gameplay experience. It's tough to judge anything about the title, other than drawing obvious comparisons to other cyberpunk-genre games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Deus Ex for the open-world elements and the look and feel of the game's universe.

And Last Sentinel may be coming at a great time, too. With CD Projekt Red reportedly done working on any new Cyberpunk 2077 content, fans of the genre may soon find themselves itching for a new take on the popular category. Lightspeed LA hasn't yet announced a release date for this, but a good bet could be the first half of 2025 at the latest.

Last Sentinel was far from the only surprise dropped at this year's The Game Awards, and definitely not the only original project revealed—there's also a shocking Hideo Kojima and Jordan Peele teamup in Xbox exclusive OD. As always, the event was full of big announcements, especially from big franchises, developers, and publishers, leaving gamers excited for the near future.