RPG Maker returns with HD-2D akin to Octopath Traveler

Within days of Valve's controversial decision to remove the "RPG Maker" tag from Steam, series developers Kadokawa Games have announced RPG Maker U2U, the most recent PC title since RPG Maker MZ released in 2020 and two years after RPG Maker With released for PlayStation consoles and Nintendo Switch in 2024. It's been a long-overdue return for the RPG Maker series, which has alternated releases between PC and consoles since 1988 and enabled the creation of many a historic indie RPG, including Lisa: The Painful, OFF, Yume Nikki, Omori, and many more.

While the rise of Unity and Unreal Engine in recent years have taken up most of the attention regarding indie game development efforts, RPG Maker's long-running status and flexibility to produce generational hits like the games listed above is remarkable. The series earned its OG status among prospective game developers and hobbyists alike, and the latest entry seems aimed at lowering the barrier to the creation of titles blending 3D graphics with 2D sensibilities, i.e. the "HD-2D" craze sparked by Square Enix's Octopath Traveler in 2018 and to a lesser extent, games like 3D Dot Game Heroes in 2009.

The key new RPG Maker U2U feature is called "Perspective 2D," and it allows the addition of of 3D depth and modern graphical effects to conventional 2D maps. The announcement touts a wealth of creation tools with "no specialized knowledge required," maintaining the ease of use RPG Maker is known for as well as compatibility with 2D assets made for previous versions of the game.

RPG Maker U2U is also built atop the Unity Engine, which is stated to power the "rich sense of depth and beautiful effects." While the effects shown in the trailer aren't as flashy as what we've come to expect from modern HD 2D titles, U2U being built atop Unity should allow for some truly high-quality effects to be built into games utilizing the engine. For independent developers, this release may just spark a wider renaissance in HD 2D games beyond titles produced by Square Enix. Sadly, no release date has yet been confirmed, but the trailer and previous release cadence of the series point toward a release this year or next.