Finnish developer Housemarque is best known for its PSN-exclusive Super Stardust HD. However, the studio has ambitious plans to expand and become a "small boutique publisher" of new IPs. The team is currently working on three different games in an attempt to expand their portfolio and experiment with new gameplay ideas.
First up is a PSN-exclusive game to be announced at Gamescom in Cologne this year. CEO Ilari Kuittinen told Gamasutra that the exclusive went to Sony to continue the team's "good relationship" with the company. The second title is the studio's first multiplatform game for a "leading publisher." "We haven't done this kind of a game genre before," said Kuittinen.
Finally, Housemarque is also working on a third title, called Rope, a physics-based puzzle game that has players using a rope to flock "fuzzy characters" to a goal. (A rather stark change of pace from planet-destroying asteroids.) It's what Housemarque hopes will be one of its first self-published games. Rope is currently approved for PlayStation Network, but the developer is also talking with Microsoft, and is thinking about an iPhone or WiiWare version.