‘All I wanted was a throwback game’: Space Marine 2 CEO responds to Asmongold praise

Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 was built around the principle of being a “throwback game” in a market where games are “too complex” and “too much of an investment,” Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch revealed in response to praise from Asmongold.

The streamer’s Sept. 13 YouTube reaction video attracted comment from Karch, who said the team “wanted to recapture” games like Halo, which debuted with a simple but addicting shooting loop.

Amongold’s video was about Space Marine 2 being an abnormality in modern gaming where titles are wrestling for your constant attention with FOMO items, battle passes, and other microtransactions. While Space Marine 2 does have a seasonal rotation that will introduce new cosmetics and maps, Karch’s response to Asmongold show that the approach is indeed different.

Karch’s comments also included a rather damning indictment of the approach at Embracer, where he previously worked, which saw him interact with games that “made me want to cry” with “overblown attempts at messaging or imposing morals on gamers.”

Instead, Karch’s approach to gaming is orientated around doing “glory kills” and getting the “heart rate up a little”—a more stripped-back approach that results in an environment more welcoming to casual gamers and those who just want a quick escape from reality.

Karch hopes that Space Marine 2 and Black Myth Wukong are the start of a “reversion” to taking gaming back to when they were “simply about fan and immersion”—which is again a sentiment I can get behind.