Swedish game developer 10 Chambers premiered the first gameplay trailer for their upcoming game Den of Wolves during The Game Awards 2024. The game is led by Creative Director Ulf Andersson, creator of the critically acclaimed heist games Payday: THE HEIST and PAYDAY 2.
The trailer opened with a sweeping shot of Midway City’s corporate-dominated skyline, where massive skyscrapers bearing the logos of powerful corporations pierce the clouds, setting the stage for this ambitious new cooperative heist game. Then it jumps right into gameplay heisting.
Den of Wolves is a 4-player cooperative first-person shooter that evolves the heist genre by combining traditional infiltration gameplay with a unique neural hacking element.
“Even if I have my backstory with PAYDAY: The Heist and PAYDAY 2, that is over ten years ago, so I’ve evolved as a developer and a creative. Den of Wolves comes as much from our latest game, GTFO, as from the PAYDAY days. We will elevate what a heist game can be – what a heist can be. You can only rob so many banks,” says Ulf Andersson, Creative Director at 10 Chambers.
The game takes place in Midway City, a corporate free zone established in 2035 through Project HOPLON. Built on the remote Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the city was created to respond to devastating AI-driven cyber attacks that nearly collapsed the global economy in the early 2030s. What began as a high-security corporate zone designed to protect critical financial and technological infrastructure has evolved into a dystopian metropolis where corporations operate with unlimited power and minimal oversight.
“Even though Den of Wolves is not an open-world game, we’ve put a lot of time and resources into building the world around you. With everything from the in-depth backstory about why we are where we are, to the brands and corporations that build up the city – each with their independent backstories,” says Oscar J-T Holm, co-founder of 10 Chambers. “Even if you are not a fan of following the lore of the game, we believe that just knowing there are these stories around you builds a powerful purpose to playing.”
Players will explore various districts within Midway City, each with its own distinct character and controlling corporate interests. The first district available at launch will be Promise District, controlled by the powerful USTMAN SACS corporation. Promise District features a dramatic vertical design where social status determines altitude – from the luxurious upper levels reserved for corporate elites to the deteriorating slums below. In this environment of extreme inequality and corporate control, players must navigate advanced surveillance systems and corrupt security forces to execute their heists.