When SloClap, the developer behind fantastic martial arts title Sifu went on to reveal something rather different in Rematch, there was inevitable disappointment amongst some onlookers — and the studio's creative director is "sorry about that".
"Because the [Rematch] reveal trailer had a cold open, like 'from the team behind Sifu', [fans] were like 'alright, Sifu 2 incoming," Pierre Tarno explains to GamesRadar.
He continues: "I'm sorry about that misunderstanding because I think we should have probably, early on, let the Sifu community know that we were about to announce a title and that it would not be Sifu 2."
To be fair, that reveal trailer baited us as well. Never in a million years did we expect SloClap to wheel out a football-inspired multiplayer title, but given just how popular Rematch has turned out to be, it's hard not to be left impressed by the team's foresight.
"We did a year and a half of post-launch support for Sifu. We felt that we'd really provided and kind of given everything we had on Sifu," says Tarno.
Indeed, Sifu's post-launch support was nothing short of excellent, with the developer adding new difficulty settings, modes, outfits, and more over the course of two-and-a-bit years.
In essence, Tarno goes on to say that modern studios are simply expected to stick to their lane, and produce titles within one genre, or multiple sequels to a successful release.
"We have a huge opportunity to pursue the creative projects that we are passionate about, and not many developers have that chance," he states.