Cygames recently spoke with Japanese publication CGWORLD about the progress of its highly anticipated “first AAA project.” Known as Project Awakening, the title was first unveiled at Cygames NEXT 2016 as a “premium console game,” with additional details, including a PS4 launch window, shared during E3 2018.
Despite a brief look at new gameplay footage during the 2021 Cygames Tech Conference, the project has remained shrouded in mystery regarding its development status for several years.
In the CGWORLD interview, Kimihiro Tomino, manager of Cygames’ Console Design Team, confirmed that the studio is dedicating significant resources to Project Awakening, with the core systems now complete. Tomino noted that while there’s still considerable work ahead, development has reached a point where momentum will continue to build.
Regarding the game’s visual identity, Tomino emphasized Cygames’ pursuit of “hyper-photorealism.” He elaborated: “We’re not aiming for conventional photorealism alone. We want to convey a sense of rawness, everyday life, and the gritty reality of the characters.”
The character designs underwent a complete overhaul following Cygames’ adoption of advanced in-house 3D scanning technology in 2019, which enabled the capture of much higher-resolution data. To enhance the desired “rawness,” characters are first scanned and then meticulously refined by sculptors.
Tomino revealed that Project Awakening is being crafted around the concept of “translating reality into gameplay.” To create a realistic open world inspired by 13th century Europe, Cygames enlisted specialized vegetation artists and geologists. The placement of terrain and flora directly influences gameplay mechanics, so level designers collaborated closely with these specialists to develop systems that mirror real-world logic as closely as possible.
Notably, while Project Awakening was initially billed as the first title using Cygames’ proprietary Cyllista Game Engine, Tomino disclosed that the Console Design Team primarily utilizes Unreal Engine 5. This suggests the title may be built with UE5, though the interview—published as a recruitment piece—may indicate this choice was also made to provide new team members with a more familiar development environment.
Project Awakening remains in active development.
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