Nirvanana, the studio behind Project Zeta, is aiming to revitalize the decade-old MOBA genre by focusing on immediate action and player gratification, moving away from the traditional slow-paced laning phases and minion farming. The new title, published by Krafton and slated for release on PC via Steam, adopts a unique structure designed to keep players engaged from the outset.
Unlike conventional MOBAs, Project Zeta eschews the standard three-lane arena. Instead, four teams of four players compete within a single, interconnected environment filled with NPC enemies. The objective revolves around defeating powerful boss enemies that spawn 'prisms,' the primary currency for victory. This design inherently promotes conflict, as teams vie for these valuable resources, leading to frequent player-versus-player engagements. According to Nirvanana CEO Namseok Kim, this approach ensures that significant team fights occur within moments of a match beginning, with the demo showcasing clashes happening within 30 seconds of each 12-minute game.
Kim explained that the modern audience often prefers shorter, more immediate entertainment experiences. He observed a stagnation in the core format of MOBAs over the past decade, inspiring his team to evolve the genre. Project Zeta's intensity escalates through distinct phases, each lasting only a few minutes. Initially, the map features fewer PvE bosses, but as the match progresses, more bosses appear, creating greater urgency and funneling teams towards central prism-cashing locations, which inevitably become hotbeds for combat.
The game's design actively discourages passive play. A key mechanic ensures that upon defeating an opposing team, the winning squad's skill cooldowns are instantly reset, allowing them to immediately re-engage in further battles. Furthermore, fallen allies can be revived as soon as a final blow is landed, enabling swift transitions back into the fray. This system aims to mitigate the frustration of being 'third-partied' in a protracted engagement. Kim noted that their previous game, a battle royale MOBA, suffered from increasing passivity as matches wore on, a pitfall they intentionally designed Project Zeta to avoid.
Kim draws inspiration for MOBA evolution from innovations seen in other genres, such as the shooter realm with titles like Valorant and PUBG. He believes the MOBA genre is ripe for exploration and experimentation, and Project Zeta's multi-team structure and compressed gameplay format are their contribution to this ongoing evolution. The preview was based on a hands-off demonstration at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, with travel and accommodation provided by Krafton.