Per the apparent words of Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch himself, Space Marine 2 was developed as a direct counter to the ever-complicated gameplay mechanics and preachy narratives seen across the larger video game industry.
Now, before we get into it, it should be explicitly advised that Karch’s alleged words be taken with a heavy grain of salt.
This is because rather than any official interview or communication, the statement at the heart of this story was shared via a YouTube comment shared by an account claiming to be the CEO himself.
And while the account’s details – including its profile photo and professed love of guitars – and the information shared in the comment line-up with Karch’s actual person, this information is publicly available on the internet and thus could be easily included in the setup of any potential ‘fake profile’.
In light of this potential, as well as both the account’s relatively recent creation in May 2024 and its complete lack of verifiable information regarding its owners identity, its clear there exists the distinct possibility that the following was not uttered by Karch at all. Should he ever issue a public denial, we’ll make sure to update this article.
That all said, what did Karch allegedly tell the public?
The Saber Interactive CEO supposedly shared his thoughts regarding Space Marine 2‘s development philosophy in response to a recent video from popular streamer Asmongold, in which the content creator reacted to YouTuber Legendary Drops’ original video ‘Space Marine 2 is a reminder of what we lost, and praised the new Warhammer 40K game for providing an experience full of “integrity and authenticity” at a time when the overall video game industry is getting bogged down by activism and corporate greed.
Following the video’s publication, the YouTube account supposedly belonging to Karch took to its comments section to tell both Asmongold and his followers, “Hey man. CEO of Saber here. I love your videos. When we signed the deal to make Space Marine 2, all I wanted was a throwback game.”
“We had the chance to work on something which by its nature was ‘old school’,” he explained. “I can’t even comprehend many of the current games that we play these days. They are too complex and too much of an investment. We worked on Halo back in the day, and that game could be distilled down to the simplest of shooting loops, but it was entirely addicting. That is what we wanted to recapture.”
“I hope that games like Space Marine 2 and [Black Myth:] Wukong are the start of a reversion to a time when games were simply about fun and immersion,” he added. “I spent some time as Chief Operating Officer at Embracer and I saw games there that made me want to cry with their overblown attempts at messaging or imposing morals on gamers. We just want to do some glory kills and get the heart rate up a little. For me that is what games should be about.”
Ultimately, whether or not this account, and thus the above comment, actually belongs to Karch remains to be seen.
Until then, players can pass the time carving through heretics in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, as now available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC platforms.