Velan Studios is developing a new co-op action RPG based on what the developer describes as a “premier fantasy IP,” according to several current job listings from the studio. The unannounced project is still in pre-production, with Velan recruiting designers to help establish its combat, world, procedural dungeon and narrative systems. The identity of the licensed franchise has not been revealed.
A Senior Level Designer listing provides some of the clearest details about the project. Velan says the game will feature randomized environments and a procedural dungeon system built from modular rooms, corridors and other layouts that can be assembled dynamically. The designer will also define variables including dungeon length, complexity and enemy spawn composition, while contributing to gameplay mechanics associated with different biomes.
The listing specifically identifies the project as a new ARPG based on a major fantasy property and says Velan is entering pre-production. Experience designing levels for isometric ARPGs is listed as a major advantage, suggesting that style is relevant to the project, although Velan does not explicitly confirm the final camera perspective. The studio is also looking for experience combining handcrafted environments with procedural generation, indicating that not every area will necessarily be generated in the same way.
A separate combat design listing provides more information about how the game is expected to play. The role involves building combat for multiple playable classes as well as defining enemy, ally and boss behavior. Experience with isometric ARPG combat and designing cooperative boss encounters is considered particularly valuable, reinforcing the co-op focus described elsewhere in Velan’s recruitment material.
The project’s RPG systems are also beginning to take shape through a Systems Designer position. Velan lists crafting, itemization, experience points and character statistics among the systems the successful candidate may own and balance. Those details point toward a progression-heavy structure rather than a lighter action game, although specific classes, loot systems and progression mechanics have not yet been announced.
Narrative appears to be a significant part of the project as well. Velan is seeking a Senior Narrative Designer to help establish the game’s story and narrative systems while working inside a “well-established IP.” Responsibilities include developing characters and locations, writing dialogue, maintaining the overall story and incorporating feedback from the external IP holder, confirming that Velan is working with the owner of an existing franchise rather than creating an entirely original fantasy setting.
The job description also refers directly to the title as a co-op ARPG and asks for candidates with experience in RPGs and classic fantasy worlds. That wording is the strongest indication yet of the project’s genre and setting, but it does not identify the franchise involved. Suggestions circulating online that the game could be based on properties such as The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons or a Nintendo series remain speculation and are not supported by the listings themselves.
Velan Studios is currently best known for games including Knockout City, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Hot Wheels Rift Rally and Midnight Murder Club. More recently, the studio developed 2026’s Star Fox for Nintendo Switch 2, using its internal VIPER engine and continuing a relationship with Nintendo that began with Mario Kart Live. Velan’s official website says the company now employs more than 100 people across its Troy, New York and Toronto studios.
The fantasy ARPG appears to represent one of Velan’s next major projects following Star Fox. Multiple design disciplines are being recruited around the same core concepts, including procedural dungeons, character classes, co-op combat, bosses, crafting, itemization and narrative development within an established franchise. Because development is still in pre-production, those systems could change significantly before the game is formally revealed.
Velan has not announced a title, publisher, platforms or release window for the project. For now, the recruitment material establishes only that the studio is building a cooperative action RPG around a major existing fantasy IP and is still making foundational design decisions. More concrete details will likely depend on when Velan and the unnamed rights holder are ready to publicly reveal the game.
