Moonbreaker

Moonbreaker is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment. It features multiplayer combat using customizable digital miniatures. The sci-fi setting of the game and many of its characters were conceived by Brandon Sanderson. Dan Wells also created podcast audio dramas to help further develop the game's lore.
== Development ==
===Early Concept (c. 2014-2018)===
Brandon first developed a worldbuilding document for a space opera-fantasy hybrid story in 2014 or 2015 with the working title of Soulburner. Other projects took priority, and it did not see any further development for several years. By 2018, he realized that the idea might work well for a video game setting. He also considered renaming it Starburner.
===Expansion as a Video Game (2019-2021)===
Circa 2019, he connected with Unknown Worlds, the developers of a game he enjoyed called Subnautica. Brandon's idea was a good fit for the type of game the company wanted to develop, and he spent time expanding on his original idea, including a story outline, more worldbuilding, and character building. Dan Wells has stated that the game would have to run for ten years to get through Brandon's outline. During this time, Brandon publicly made vague references to progress on the Soulburner project, but he was contractually prohibited from providing details on what exactly it was. Brandon was heavily involved in the early, conceptual phase of the game; by late 2021, his contributions were largely completed.
===Release (2022-)===
In August 2022, the project was revealed as a video game called Moonbreaker, and Brandon was finally able to reveal his role in the game's development. The game was soon released on Steam in early access. It is set in a solar system called "The Reaches" with a dwarf star that has an atmosphere full of small moons. Unknown Worlds hired Dan Wells to create audio originals developing the backstory for each of the captains featured in the game, with some input from Brandon. Titled Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches, the company planned to release three episodes for each "season" of the game to coincide with new character launches. Brandon enjoyed the game, although he mentioned that he was not a fan of the initial monetization model; large publications such as IGN had notably called out the game's microtransactions and "gacha"-style character unlocks in early reviews.
By late 2022, Unknown Worlds responded to this negative feedback and removed all monetization from the game after the initial purchase. Steam reviews were generally positive, with the unique "tabletop" concept drawing particular praise, but some reviewers complained about the partially luck-based combat, balance issues, and the lack of any sort of single-player mode. Although Dan had developed at least one audio drama for the second season, the last one to be released was season 1, episode 4 in April of 2023. The game exited early access in February 2024.
The game remains for sale on Steam, but the last update was shortly after the official release, with no subsequent updates from the developer. Brandon has mentioned that he still believes Unknown Worlds is a great studio, but the video game industry is very difficult and the game "just didn't go anywhere". He remains open to future video game projects.
==External Links==
* Moonbreaker official site
*Moonbreaker on Steam
*Moonbreaker: Tales from the Reaches audio drama podcasts
== Notes ==