New Game Studio Arctic Theory Announces New Non-Combat MMO Codenamed "Annex" Coming in 2023

Icelandic game studio Arctic Theory announced today that they're working on a new non-combat MMO codenamed 'Annex' which will launch into early access sometime in 2023. Arctic Theory was founded by Matthías Guðmundsson (CEO), Gísli Konráðsson (Creative Director), Snorri Sturluson (Chief Architect), and Jón Bjarni Bjarnason (CTO). The co-founders of the studio have experience working at CCP Games (Eve Online).

Gameplay will revolve around building houses, trade routes and cities, solving puzzles, and helping to shape the game's persistent shared world.

Arctic Theory is a small game studio that raised only $2 million USD in seed funding earlier this year and is currently in talks with publishing partners. Given their size and relatively modest funding, it's impressive to see that they've set their sights on releasing an early access version of the game sometime next year.

“Players will collaborate with one another to explore and harness the vast landscape and its resources,’’ explains Creative Director Gísli Konráðsson. “They’ll have to learn to create the tools required to harvest these resources and solve the logistics of transporting and utilizing them. Ultimately, every player contributes to a common goal. Whether a lone prospector in the wilderness or a team working to build a factory in a new settlement, the whole of the player base is working together to make their mark in this incredible world. We’re beyond excited to bring this step in the evolution of the MMO to gamers who love the genre as much as we do. It will be a wholly unique playing experience.”

A non-combat MMO sounds interesting and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more about Annex in the future. No word on the game's business model just yet and there's no public gameplay footage or screenshots yet either.

Further Reading: Official Arctic Theory Website