In an interview with Wccftech, Atomic Heart Director Robert Bagratuni provided fresh details about the upcoming action game, revealing that developer Mundfish aims to release a series of DLCs that expand the player experience with new territories, quests, puzzles, and characters. He also elaborated on the development process of the game while describing his experience of working with developers around the world.
Speaking of Mundfish's post-launch support, Robert Bagratuni provided an outline of what DLCs will be released, saying, "The entire Atomic Heart experience will be single-player, focusing on the story and player experience. No multiplayer add-ons are planned at this time. The DLCs are intended to greatly expand the player experience with new territories, quests, puzzles, enemies, as well as character and world stories."
The studio also plans to expand both the open-world territories with new complexes and labs, where the players will need to complete challenges to learn more about the Atomic Heart world.
Aside from the studio's DLC plans, the director spoke up about what caused the delay, pointing to tough decisions they had to make during the development process. "We wanted to create something extraordinary, a unique game. This applies to the story and the structure of the game, as well as a lot of mechanics. Our unwanted delay can be attributed to youth, ambition, innovation, and new technology." The other reason for the delay was their decision to abandon multiplayer, which pushed them to make significant changes to Atomic Heart's structure.
Bagratuni then gave an insight into the original design of Atomic Heart, saying, "We wanted to tell the story of where progress and technology can spiral out of control and tell a fantastic story of a confrontation between man and machine. The other part is the ‘immersiveness’ and combat mechanics; we focused on polishing the gunplay, balancing the storyline, and creating a unique experience."
When asked about the studio's relocation to Cyprus, Robert did not reveal the specifics and rationale behind their decision, saying that: "For now, as you can imagine, our total focus is on Atomic Heart which has been in development and planning since 2017 in Cyprus." When asked about the team's geographical distribution, he iterated that Mundfish engaged contractors who previously worked with major AAA games in all areas. The director also outlined the caliber of talent and development is what makes Atomic Heart worth playing.
Atomic Heart is due to release for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on March 21st.