Thomas Grip, creative director and co-founder of Frictional Games, revealed in an interview with 80.lv (via Eurogamer) that the studio is considering de-emphasizing horror in its future projects and is instead focusing on immersive He revealed that the studio is considering using a unique, immersive first-person style to tell other kinds of stories.

"Horror games are naturally emotionally driven," he said. But we're also exploring themes beyond creating the macabre."

"In future projects, I think we're going to be a little less horror-y and more focused on other emotional elements. I am confident that these games will feel like games of friction. The immersion, the personal journey, and the overall vision are the hallmarks of a Friction game, not just a horror game.

Friction has a long history of first-person horror games dating back to "Amnesia" and beyond, with the "Penumbra" series being its first major success. With such a history, the possibility of prioritizing other storytelling is a bit of a shock, but we are more excited than ever to see what comes next.

2010's "Amnesia" was a shocker, but its run-and-hide horror will be hard to like after a few films; I love the sci-fi spinoffs "SOMA" and 2020's "Amnesia:" Rebirth," I like their high-concept stories and tactile living environments more than the part about being chased by a jerk.

Even this year's "Amnesia: The Bunker" feels like the exception that proves the rule to me. With its incredible setting, terrifyingly intelligent monsters, and hardcore, old-school resource management, it is now one of my favorite horror games, but it could only do so by sharply breaking with the tradition of the "Amnesia" series. In other words, in "The Bunker," you get a gun. Leave it to Friction to see what else the studio can come up with.

We reported in February that Friction's creative director, Fredrik Ohlsson, had let slip that the studio was "working on a much bigger project with a lot more of the philosophical stuff we saw at SOMA." Apparently, that project is also being led by Thomas Gripp, but this is a game that has not yet been officially announced, and could we be seeing more than horror?

Friction's January job ad for scenario design called for "people who like science fiction and horror," so who knows what Friction's ratio of creepy to "something else" will be for this next project and the one after that.