During this year’s Summer Game Fest, Mundfish, the studio behind Atomic Heart, announced a brand-new project titled The CUBE alongside the announcement of Atomic Heart 2. Unlike its predecessors, this title marks a shift in both genre and gameplay direction, moving into the territory of MMORPG shooters while still retaining the distinctive setting and themes that fans will recognize from the Atomic Heart universe.
Set in the same alternate-history Soviet backdrop, The CUBE introduces a large-scale, persistent online world shaped around an unusual event: the sudden appearance of a massive cube in the sky. Players will explore the cube’s shifting environments, engaging in quests, combat scenarios, and discovery-driven gameplay that’s set to differ significantly from the narrative-driven experience of Atomic Heart.
Mundfish says the game will combine in-depth worldbuilding with a broad range of enemies, large boss encounters, and a living ecosystem populated with characters and factions. The developers aim to create a game world where the setting evolves over time, presenting players with new challenges and opportunities as they progress. Multiple biomes and dynamic environments will serve as the stage for both PvE and potentially PvP engagements, although details on specific systems remain limited.
A key focus of the announcement was the game’s underlying technology. According to Mundfish, the CUBE runs on a custom-developed rendering system designed to handle large numbers of animated and interactive objects in real-time across vast terrain — a capability the studio claims is a first in the industry. This split-rendering system is said to optimize performance without compromising on environmental interactivity or visual fidelity, especially in multiplayer settings.
The technology allows for naturalistic handling of in-game physics, including realistic ballistics and gravity simulation, all of which are designed to function seamlessly in online scenarios. According to the studio, this will enable complex object behavior and fluid transitions in gameplay, features they believe are essential for delivering a smooth MMORPG shooter experience.
Currently, the CUBE does not have a confirmed release date, and given the scope of the project, development is expected to take time. However, the game is already listed on Steam, where users can wishlist it. Mundfish also confirmed that the game is being developed for both PC and console platforms.
While it’s still early, The CUBE marks an ambitious step forward for Mundfish, which is now expanding beyond its roots in single-player storytelling into persistent online multiplayer worlds. More updates are expected as development continues.
