A new Windows Central report says that a Wu-Tang Clan-themed action RPG may be in development at Brass Lion Entertainment, a studio founded in 2017 by industry veterans Manveer Heir, Bryna Dabby Smith, and Rashad Redic.
Codenamed Project Shaolin, the game is a third-person action-RPG according to the report, with a beefy campaign of “a couple of dozen hours” and support for four-player co-op. It will offer seasonal content drops and other updates, through both procedural endgame dungeons and hand-made events. The Wu-Tang Clan will also be directly involved as the creators of the game’s soundtrack.
The Windows Central report was bolstered by Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat, who strongly suggested in a podcast that he’d heard something similar. “It has to do with a musical act, I will say, that often uses Shaolin … I’ll just say it ain’t nothing to fuck with. That’s what I’ll say.”
Wu-Tang Clan does indeed make frequent use of Shaolin references—its seventh album, a single-pressing that was sold to disgraced pharma-bro Martin Shkreli in 2015 for an estimated $2 million, is called Once Upon a Time in Shaolin—and Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit is the title of a track from the Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers) album.
It takes a while after Grubb’s co-host Mike Minotti makes the connection, but eventually he states outright that “it’s a Wu-Tang game.” He adds that he’s not sure about the actual gameplay style, however, and says that “it’s still a ways off.”
Brass Lion, which was launched with the goal of “creating original fictional universes that center on Black, Brown, and other traditionally marginalized characters,” does appear to have something new in the works. It’s currently developing Corner Wolves, which “tells the stories of young people growing up in the hood, and how their lives are shaped and defined by the war on drugs, as they are caught between dope dealers, hustlers, and overzealous police,” but Heir tweeted in September about “an unannounced action-RPG with a dope anime aesthetic.”
In case you missed it, Brass Lion is hiring a game designer to join our amazing and diverse team working on an unannounced action-RPG with a dope anime aesthetic. If you care about making games with the best, check out the job posting and apply today! #gamejobs https://t.co/6sn8G62VHySeptember 28, 2021
The studio’s website also has job listings posted for a lead 3D environmental artist, engine programmer, gameplay programmer, and UI/UX programmer, all for “our new action-RPG title,” but sadly there are no further details about the nature of the game. I’ve reached out to Brass Lion for comment and will update if I receive a reply.