Crema Games is a studio that can be described as notorious among MMORPG fans. The Spanish developer first arrived to the scene in 2018 with its MMORPG Temtem, described by the studio as a “massively multiplayer creature-collection adventure.” The title ended up raising over half a million dollarbux during its Kickstarter drive and did eventually move through early access and into a full launch in 2022.
It was at this point that things started to get sour. The studio first stepped in it when it attempted to release a secondary side game known as Temtem Showdown in 2023, sparking concern among backers and defense of the title as a cost efficient way to support the MMO. Ultimately, the side project failed to get off the ground and was closed several months later in early 2024.
The studio then announced another spinoff game, Temtem Swarm, a co-op bullet heaven wave survival shooter. The reveal caused an even more furious backlash from MMO backers to the point that the game shut down its subreddit for a few days. Finally, the studio confirmed that the Temtem the MMO would get one last update while arguing that it wasn’t capable of calling it an “MMO-lite” as it wanted and that it never was intended to be updated constantly. It officially entered maintenance mode with that update in September 2024.
Free of having to update the MMORPG with new content, Crema pushed on with its other projects, as Temtem Swarm made it to a 1.0 release earlier this month and the studio announced its next game, codenamed Project Downbelow and its plans to arrive to Kickstarter. That (finally) brings us to today’s news and the official name of Project Downbelow, which is called Temtem Pioneers, a single-player and co-op survival sandbox set in the original MMO’s world.
“Your airship, the Narwhal, has crashed and what was supposed to be a routine trip has become an intense situation where you must find your way through a previously-unexplored frontier. Step into the Downbelow, a vast and untamed region where Temtem roam wild and every expedition opens the door to new discoveries.”
Pioneers promises a survival experience that’s primarily about “adapting to and learning about the world around you” instead of constant pressure and fear. That said, many of the hallmarks of the sub-genre are present, with lots of resource gathering, crafting, and base building. As for its creature collection angle, the game promises over 200 Tems to find and capture, using them as mounts, farm helpers, and real-time combatants. Critter progression also has its own unique system built around taming multiple types of a similar species.
Pioneers has already hit its full crowdfunding ask of €90K or just over $105K after only eight hours, with funding now going into the stretch goal phase that starts with a crystalline biome unlocked at $164K (€140K). The game is also up for wishlisting on Steam if one is so inclined. Even after knowing Crema’s history with crowdfunding.
