Conan the Barbarian has managed to remain relevant in pop culture for more than 90 years, thanks to literature, film, and video games. In 2028, Conan will return in a new adventure that combines the fantasy franchise’s sword-and-sworcery themes with a dash of cosmic horror.
Developer Games Farm announced Conan: The Black Pyramid on Wednesday, revealing a reality-warping action roguelike that will see Conan aligned with other characters created by author Robert E. Howard, including pulp heroes Solomon Kane and Dark Agnes.
Conan: The Black Pyramid looks like Diablo meets Hades
According to an announcement from Games Farm, Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes, and two other unannounced heroes “wake up inside the Black Pyramid, a labyrinth that ignores the rules of space and time and changes with every descent.” Conan: The Black Pyramid is an action-RPG roguelike, and each run through the pyramid promises to get players closer to discovering who summoned them across time… and why.
Conan: The Black Pyramid promises a mix of melee, swordplay, magic, and gunplay. The game will feature solo and two-player cooperative play.
“We’re thrilled to bring a legendary hero like Conan back to the modern gaming world,” said Peter Nagy, CEO of Games Farm, in a statement. “Robert E. Howard’s stories mean a lot to us, as they do to generations of readers, and we’re approaching them with all the care and respect they deserve. We want players to step into the world they’ve imagined while reading those stories, in all its savage and strange glory.”
“Eldritch horrors, reality-warping sorcery, ancient beings from other worlds, these lesser-known aspects are some of the coolest parts of Conan, and players will finally get to experience them,” added Marcos Cronander, president of Heroic Signatures, which licenses the Conan IP. “Conan and Robert E. Howard’s many other mighty characters are in good hands with the Games Farm and we are excited for players to get their hands on them and see how cool they all really are.”
Howard is perhaps best known for his sword and sorcery works that starred characters such as Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn. But the author worked in a variety of genres, including detective stories, horror, and Westerns — as well as blends of those genres. Conan: The Black Pyramid could bring together a wild and interesting mix of Howard’s heroes and weirdos in playable form for the first time.
Conan: The Black Pyramid is slated for release on Windows PC via Steam — where the game’s available to wishlist — in 2027. Console versions are expected to follow the game’s PC release.
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced earlier this year that he’s returning to the role of Conan in King Conan, which he says will be written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who made the last four Mission: Impossible films. According to Schwarzenegger’s comments, the project is in development at Disney’s 20th Century Studios arm.
