ANN ARBOR, MI – 22 April 2021 – We Are the Caretakers, the sci-fi turn-based tactical RPG set in an afrofuturist world from developer Heart Shaped Games, fights to protect virtual and real-world wildlife starting today, Earth Day, on Steam Early Access.
We Are the Caretakers centers around the Raun, a rhino-like species targeted by poachers both earthbound and extraterrestrial. The Caretakers, led by the Conductor, task themselves with protecting these creatures, essential to the ecosystem of the land of Shadra, but hunted for their animal byproducts.
As the Conductor, rally units from 20-plus job classes with more than 70 special abilities onto real-time strategy maps with RPG turn-based combat. Protect the Raun from extinction alongside Akachi, an orphan Raun that joins the Caretakers. Navigate a nuanced morality system, where the Conductor must balance their reputation with the decisions they make to protect the Raun, and whether they reform defeated poachers or send them to face justice.
We Are the Caretakers features a cast of primarily Black characters envisioned by art director Anthony Jones (former cinematics artist at Activision Blizzard) combined with synthetic and organic elements for his interpretation of afrofuturism. Experience a story-rich campaign from BAFTA and IGF-nominated narrative director Xalavier Nelson Jr. (Hypnospace Outlaw, SkateBIRD) or take on the procedurally-generated Survival mode.
To support real-world conservation efforts, developer Heart Shaped Games will contribute revenues from the game to non-profit organizations that support wildlife conservation efforts. These include the previously-announced contribution of 10% of the developer’s revenues from the We Are The Caretakers game to the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Rhino Recovery Fund, which focuses on improving the health of rhino populations while also benefiting local people.
“In our quest to have a quantifiable impact in the world with our game, we’re proud to work with real-world groups like WCN,” said Scott Brodie, founder, Heart Shaped Games. “Raising awareness is important, but we wanted to make sure We Are The Caretakers has a real, lasting impact on supporting animal conservation efforts.”
We Are The Caretakers joins Steam Early Access for Windows PC today, Earth Day 2021, for $19.99 with a 20% launch discount.The 1.0 version launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC later in 2021, featuring new story chapters, game modes, and characters. The game supports English language text, with French, German, Spanish (Spain), Japanese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and more translations in development.
For more information, visit the official website, join the We Are The Caretakers Discord, and follow Heart Shaped Games on Twitter, Facebook, and Twitch. Players can wishlist now on the We Are The Caretakers Steam Page
About Heart Shaped Games
Heart Shaped Games is a design-centric indie game studio founded in 2010 by 18-year game industry veteran Scott Brodie. As a diverse, remote team of veteran developers, Heart Shaped Games’ mission is to have an impact by creating meaningful and memorable games that fans will love. Their line-up of award-winning titles continues to expand, and so far includes We Are The Caretakers, Hero Generations, Brave Hand, and Highgrounds.
