New Single-Player IP Brewing from Returnal Director's Studio

"We believe there is always room for games built on timeless values that trust the player and leave a lasting impact." That's Harry Krueger, the director of Returnal and Nex Machina, announcing his new Helsinki-based studio, Cosmic Division. And if the phrasing "trust the player" doesn't immediately make you think of Returnal's refusal to hold your hand, you probably didn't play it.

Krueger spent almost 15 years at Housemarque, directing Nex Machina and Returnal while also working on Outland, Resogun, and the early stages of Saros before departing the Sony-owned studio in 2023. Now stepping into the role of founder and CEO, he's building Cosmic Division around what he calls a "lean-and-mean" philosophy: small team, fast iteration, sustainable growth over scale. The studio has already secured seed funding and is actively hiring, while also courting additional investors and collaborators.

The first project is a new single-player IP for consoles and PC. Specifics are thin on the ground, but the studio's own description promises "an unapologetically gameplay-first experience and a story with strong emotional resonance." Krueger expanded on that vision in his statement: "We're excited to push further into the experiences we love creating: intoxicating gameplay loops, audiovisual spectacle, and impactful stories that linger with players long after the credits have rolled."

What We Actually Know

Not much, frankly. There's no title, no concept art, no genre confirmation, and no release window. An official game announcement will "follow at a later date." What we do have is a clear creative lineage. Returnal was one of the PS5's best exclusives, a brutally tight roguelike shooter that married arcade-precision combat with psychological horror. Nex Machina was a love letter to arcade twin-stick shooters. And Saros, which Krueger helped shape before leaving, has been widely praised since launching earlier this year. The DNA here is consistent: high-intensity action, strong atmosphere, respect for the player's skill.

I'm excited about this one. Krueger's track record is one of the strongest in the action space, and the fact that he's going independent rather than joining another major publisher suggests he wants creative freedom more than a safety net. The "lean-and-mean" framing is encouraging too. Some of the best games of the last few years have come from small, focused teams with clear creative vision, and Krueger already has the portfolio to attract serious talent to Helsinki.

The timing feels right as well. Housemarque is riding high off Saros, which means the appetite for this style of game, atmospheric, systems-driven, player-trusting, is clearly there. Krueger leaving that studio to build something new rather than riding the wave of its success tells you he has a specific idea he wants to chase. Whether Cosmic Division can deliver on that ambition with a compact team and seed funding is the real question, but if anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt in this space, it's the person who turned a mid-budget PS5 exclusive into one of the generation's defining action games.

Cosmic Division is based in Helsinki, Finland, and is currently hiring across multiple roles as it builds toward its debut project.