Den of Wolves - Information, Extortion and Extraction... to the Highest Bidder

Or, everything you need to know about 10 Chambers’ newest cooperative FPS caper!

Aside from having perhaps the coolest title going round for what’s coming in 2025, 10 Chambers’ heist-driven co-op FPS, Den of Wolves, also has a lot of world to it. World as a noun here is built specifically around Midway City, its competitive corpo entities vying for that singular edge and the seemingly ‘no holds (or law) barred’ ways in which to gain said edge. Dystopian or cyberpunk, Midway City might very well be one of the coolest aspects of the game. Set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to avoid international law in a sort of futuristic unregulated libertarian-type setup, the game’s playspace is abuzz with drone swarms, tall buildings, neon flare, copious advertising and everything else you’d expect a cyberpunk-inspired world to be filled with.

“Even though Den of Wolves is not an open-world game, we’ve put a lot of time and resources into building the world around you,” explains Oscar J-T Holm, co-founder of 10 Chambers. “Everything from the in-depth backstory about why we are where we are, to the brands and corporations that build up the city – each with their independent backstories… even if you are not a fan of following the lore of [a] game, we believe that just knowing there are these stories around you builds a powerful purpose to playing.”

Den of Wolves doesn’t quite present as ‘retro future’, which is an interesting distinction to other cyberpunk titles out there, but is certainly ‘techno’ in its bombastic sheen and all of its perceived technology driving not only the world itself, but each aspect of what you do as one of the experts to hire in this cutthroat environment. Equally, any number of jobs available amidst the competitive landscape of corporations-as-citizens that are clearly the makeup of Midway City’s ‘population’ is an opportunity for 10 Chambers to continue to build out that world.

“We will elevate what a heist game can be – what a heist can be,” adds Ulf Andersson, Creative Director at 10 Chambers. “You can only rob so many banks.”

While more information is yet to be forthcoming, we’ve poured through every available nugget out there from 10 Chambers itself, as well as all available assets and the game’s decidedly old-school official site to give you the best possible breakdown of what to expect and everything we know so far, plus with a bit of hopeful thinking from our end.

Den of Wolves

Genre: Techno-Thriller Co-Op Heist FPS
Developer: 10 Chambers
Publisher: 10 Chambers
Release Date: 2025
Classification: TBC
Date: January 07, 2025

Mind-Fuckery

Outside of its potential for finesse-based planning and byproductive chaos and destruction, based on impediments in the form of security, competing heisters-for-hire and other obstructive corpo measures, Den of Wolves is also looking to be a bit of a mind-fuck.

There’s clearly a psychological mind-jacking type of element teased at and shown in some measure that looks to have allowed 10 Chambers to be creative from a visual and level design perspective. This was most prominently demonstrated in the recent The Game Awards gameplay reveal trailer with design somewhat akin to Ghostrunner (at a glance), and though the glimpse here is micro-short, if we jump back to the reveal trailer one year ago, we do learn that this is likely part of an interrogation aspect to the game as well. 

Or as Andersson, calls it -- “mind-fuckery”.

"We also know that Andersson and co live for that opening sequence to The Dark Knight while we also see that even Scorsese is an influence here..."

This isn’t a new concept in the cyberpunk space, and we do know the game has been heavily inspired by the likes of Gibson and other so-called “techno thrillers” across multiple sources of media, but we also know that Andersson and co live for that opening sequence to The Dark Knight while we also see that even Scorsese is an influence here, which means we’re likely in for a fairly mature storyline to go along with that "world" mentioned above. And hopefully a storyline driven by technology and mind-altering and bending tactics to get the most out of each situation. 

How this is set to play out, of course, is still anyone’s guess, but we’re wholly aware that when the game does drop for Early Access we’ll have a single area of Midway City to play in -- Promise District.

Slumdog Gazillionaire

We know that Den of Wolves isn’t an open-world game, but this also means that each district is likely to be intricately designed to help facilitate everything that can go right and wrong in any given heist scenario. So far in all footage shown we’ve seen a lot of action, but we also know that there’ll be full stealth missions and more as part of each heist. The aforementioned districts will all differ as well which should make the game fairly dynamic and offer up myriad options from a pre-planning perspective. If 10 Chambers can deliver a cadence that is varied, engaging and unique with each heist while also leaving room for player-driven dynamism in a cooperative environment, Den of Wolves could be something very special indeed.

As mentioned above, Promise District -- the first we’ll get to heist in -- is purportedly a vertical-heavy playspace where the most powerful and rich live and operate from the uppermost levels of its many tall buildings. Like all good futuristic settings, there’s a societal disconnect here, with the lower levels of the same buildings home to “deteriorating slums”. This area is also mostly controlled by the USTMAN SACS corporation, which also tells us most other districts are likely to have a controlling body operating as the head of a snake. Hopefully we also see spaces with competing corporations vying for slivers of control and we also get to choose which we work with, with the outcomes reshaping the makeup of that district, how it operates and therefore how new heists are played out at all.  

The likelihood moving forward is that 10 Chambers will slowly introduce new districts in the form of updates while the game is in Early Access (though this isn’t confirmed, we’re just postulating here). These should come with new and unique heists and scenarios based on the “distinct character” of said district. The above mentioned “vertical-heavy” design being of particular note for Promise District which could involve abseiling, or long and drawn out escapes as you descend from the upper levels of targeted buildings making for chaotic and cinematic moments. We’ve been told Promise District is also full of high-level surveillance and “corrupt security forces”, which poses plenty of opportunity to use high-end gadgets and maybe even pay off guards and security, among so much more.

United We Stand

While most games are currently being made with Unreal 5, or are at least making the jump to Epic’s powerful new engine, there’s still a lot being done with Unity, despite some of the platform’s recent tumult. And we’ve seen some stunning games utilising the lower-end tech (when compared to UE) such as one of this writer’s favourites, Subnautica, or the Aussie-developed sensation, Cult of the Lamb, to name a couple. 10 Chambers’ own GTFO was also built using Unity and still holds its own some five years later.

"Principally, when considering a heist, which tends to involve breaking into something, destruction is going to be a key part of events, so we hope we’ll be able to go loud and proud..."

What does stand out most with everything we’ve seen of the game so far is there appears to be a lot of destruction in environments, which is even on a surface level very impressive, but will also likely have gameplay ramifications both positive and negative, but obviously all always for the better (and better spectacle). Principally, when considering a heist, which tends to involve breaking into something, destruction is going to be a key part of events, so we hope we’ll be able to go loud and proud if we can’t, say, secure a key to open some sort of door or vault or whatever. You know, as a last resort (of explosive fun). Meanwhile, we’ve also taken note of the fact there’s fairly destructive weapons in the game, alongside gadgets and robotic devices, all of which look impressive both from an art and design perspective as well as technically running off Unity. 

There’s still no call on whether the game will find its way to consoles, with just PC confirmed for now, but we can’t see it living exclusively on Desktop for too long. Whether it makes its way onto either PS5 or Xbox in some sort of exclusivity setup, however, would be another interesting spin, especially if it proves to be popular in Early Access. Both Sony and Microsoft would have us believe they’re trying to play nice with gamers in mind, but the truth is the market for exclusivity is still very much in play, and all of 10 Chambers other heist-driven titles remain popular so we wouldn’t put it past one of the big two to throw big cash around for exclusivity. But for now, that’s just more postulation on our part -- Master Race, you’re fine. Nothing to see here, heist away.

Listen All Y’all, it’s a Sabotage

Of the types of jobs you and your fellow heisters will be doing, we know of three confirmed based on the trailers released thus far -- industrial espionage, sabotage and assassination. How these play out, scenario to scenario, is yet to be determined, alongside the potential for change and shift, caper to caper. Equally, district to district how each job or assignment changes will also be a massively sought after bit of information, and again, whether heist outcomes will have an impact on the district at all and further heist opportunities will remain to be seen. We do know, however, that you’ll be able to gain information from targets, as seen with the Mr Boeman bit of trickery in the first reveal trailer. The key for all of this, of course, will be how it’s all linked and just how ‘open’ the game is from heist planning to execution and what the resulting success or failure looks like, so there’s still many question marks, but 10 Chambers knows this space well, so it’s probably worth jumping back into any of GTFO or Payday to maybe start making some educated guesses.

"Moreover, as money and “the bottom line” are all-important aspects to life in Midway City, how you manage funds and item and asset purchases will be an interesting element..."

We only hope there’s room for hostages and asset handovers, lateral thinking task to task with player dynamism at the fore and a lot more than just the three confirmed ‘jobs’ on offer. Moreover, as money and “the bottom line” are all-important aspects to life in Midway City, how you manage funds and item and asset purchases will be an interesting element; will one job’s success help lead into new options for the next? Will failure play any part in diminishing a team’s bankroll? And will there be any sort of ‘black market’ you engage with to kit yourself and your team out? All pertinent questions, and all hopefully answered soon. 

A Mask for Every Occasion

“It’s sort of my thing, in a way,” Andersson says of masks being just as prevalent in Den of Wolves as any of his other projects. “[And] I tend to always end up in that semi-kinky space -- [masks are] an icon for escapism.”

It wouldn’t be a 10 Chambers game without masks, and you can actually watch an interesting video detailing the studio’s mask creation and implementation journey over the years to this point. We’re still not entirely sure if masks will have a deeper gameplay mechanism attached or if they’re still just a form of player expression, but it does appear there’s essentially no choice but to mask up. And hey, if that’s a 10 Chambers stamp, then so be it -- just give us as many options as you possibly can in the space.

"This time around, however, they feel different. There’s a sense of import to hiding your identity in Midway City..."

Naturally, if you played any of the studio’s previous games, even under other collective names, you’ll know these are both a staple and an homage to The Dark Knight heist mentioned above. This time around, however, they feel different. There’s a sense of import to hiding your identity in Midway City -- more so than just as a bank robber, given it’s an island state/nation in the middle of the Pacific and you kind of have to live and work and function here. Not that any of those things will be gameplay elements (that we’re aware of), but as has been bandied about throughout this feature, it’s all a part of world-building. That said, Den of Wolves is definitely teasing its broadest selection of masks yet, and maybe the most expressive you can be. What would be awesome if you’re listening, 10 Chambers, is a mask creation tool on your official site players can submit designs to, to then be able to wear in-game.

You’re welcome, heisters.

Your Share of the Loot

That’s about all we know now. But information should be forthcoming soon, so stay alert. Obviously there’s more you can dig into, especially if you're an aficionado of any of the studio and its employee’s other efforts, but you could also be barking up the wrong tree as this feels as much like a reset of ideas and identity as much as it is a reaffirmation of them. ‘Bigger, better, bolder’-type stuff, you know.

We’ll be all over this one in 2025, so stay tuned!

About the author

Written By Stephen Farrelly
Stephen Farrelly is a veteran journalist and editor with more than two decades experience in the worlds of gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and sport under his belt. He is a proud pug dad, loves art in all forms but particularly street and tattoo culture, and is the director of Swear Jar...

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