Black Salt Games Announces New Studio And Next Projects

Scoop

03-07-2025

Black Salt Games, the indie studio behind the award-winning sinister fishing adventure DREDGE, today announced the formation of a second studio, Disc 2 Games, and confirmed that both teams are now working on new, original titles.
Following the launch of DREDGE in 2023 and its final major expansion The Iron Rig, Black Salt Games has officially wrapped content development on the title. The team is now deep into pre-production on a new game.
' We've taken DREDGE as far as we can technically – especially while continuing to support players on previous-gen consoles,' said Nadia Thorne, CEO and Producer. 'It's time to turn our attention to something new.'
While details on Black Salt's next project are under wraps, the studio promises it will stay true to their focus on atmosphere, intrigue, and surprising mechanics – but in a brand new world.
"Creating DREDGE was so rewarding for us," said Joel Mason, Programmer & Writer at Black Salt Games. "Seeing players respond so positively towards our work is incredibly fulfilling. It's reaffirming to know that players enjoy the types of worlds that we want to create - and gives us the confidence to try to do it again."
Around the time DREDGE launched, Nadia Thorne co-founded a second studio, Disc 2 Games, alongside longtime collaborators Kris Nicholson and Johannes Otte. Operating independently but under the same roof in Christchurch, Disc 2 shares creative DNA with Black Salt - along with Thorne, who is Producer on both studios' titles, and Michael Bastiaens, who is also contributing to Disc 2's debut game.
"We've been quietly working on our first game for a bit over a year now." said Kris Nicholson, Technical Director at Disc 2 Games. "It's a fusion of ideas that we think work well together, we're really excited to share more about it soon!"
When asked about what can be expected from Disc 2's first game, Creative Director Johannes Otte says, 'The game initially welcomes players with a bright, stylish, and fun facade. However, beneath this polished surface lies a gritty world, waiting for players to immerse themselves in and join our characters in rebelling against.'
More news on Disc 2 Games debut title will be 'dropping in' in the upcoming months.
Members of the team will be attending a variety of video game conferences throughout the year to promote the game. If you would like to meet the team and/or demo the game once it is announced, please contact [e-mail] to arrange.