Why Gloomwood Publisher Won't Use Immersive Sim Label

New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry has confirmed the publisher deliberately rejects the "immersive sim" genre label when marketing titles such as Gloomwood and Fallen Aces, opting instead to position them as role-playing games (RPGs) or action adventures to maximise commercial reach. Developed by Dillon Rogers alongside David Szymanski, Gloomwood is a retro-styled first-person stealth horror game currently available in PC Early Access on Steam. For Malaysian and Southeast Asian PC gamers, New Blood Interactive's regional pricing strategy via Steam Malaysia positions the title at an accessible price point compared to standard Western import rates, making the underlying discourse on taxonomy directly relevant to consumer expectations across regional digital storefronts.

Key Facts

Why Does New Blood Interactive Reject the Immersive Sim Label?

New Blood Interactive rejects the immersive sim label because publisher leadership considers the terminology commercially ineffective and alienating to mainstream audiences. Instead, the studio argues that seminal titles historically classed as immersive sims are fundamentally role-playing games that benefit from broader genre categorisation to achieve sustainable commercial success on digital retail platforms.

In an interview with PC Gamer, New Blood boss Dave Oshry addressed the difficulty of pitching niche simulation mechanics to prospective buyers. Oshry revealed that he had not encountered the industry term "immersive sim" until lead developer Dillon Rogers used it during the production of Gloomwood, despite Oshry being intimately familiar with genre landmarks such as Ion Storm's Deus Ex and Looking Glass Studios' System Shock.

"Is it a good marketing term? No. It sucks. It's awful... System Shock and Deus Ex, they were RPGs. People called them RPGs. That's the funny thing about an immersive sim. You're immersed in this world. You're building your character. Yeah, that's called an RPG, brother. That's a roleplaying game."

— Dave Oshry, CEO of New Blood Interactive

Oshry contended that shifting promotional classification toward standard RPG or action-adventure tropes yields superior discoverability on storefront algorithms. While traditional RPG audiences expect numerical stat progression and experience points—features generally absent or minimized in Gloomwood—New Blood maintains that player agency, emergent physics, and systemic world-building comfortably align with role-playing fundamentals. New Blood Interactive explicitly avoids marketing Gloomwood as an immersive sim because the publisher views the commercial label as actively detrimental to sales compared to the broader RPG genre.

How Does Gloomwood Perform on Portable Gaming Hardware?

Gloomwood operates on custom low-fidelity retro 3D rendering pipelines optimized for modern personal computers and x86 handhelds. The title runs natively on Windows-based handhelds such as the ASUS ROG Ally and executes smoothly on Valve's Steam Deck via the Proton compatibility layer, offering solid 60 frames per second performance under default graphical configurations.

The game's production updates—including expansions introducing vertical urban layouts, the Market District, and tavern environments—retain lean file footprint characteristics typical of New Blood's catalog (which includes ULTRAKILL and Dusk). For mobile PC users across Southeast Asia navigating commuter transit or power-restricted handheld sessions, the title's modest thermal draw ensures extended battery life on 15W TDP configurations. Gloomwood maintains a consistent 60 frames per second performance profile across standard x86 handheld consoles including the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally.

Southeast Asia & Malaysian Collector Verdict

Malaysian and Southeast Asian players seeking to play Gloomwood are currently limited to digital distribution through Steam, as New Blood Interactive has not issued physical media SKUs for console or PC formats. Consequently, regional collectors cannot source physical boxed editions via regional distributors or specialist import retailers like Play-Asia at this stage of development.

From an acquisition standpoint, purchasing via Steam's Malaysian Ringgit storefront offers substantial cost savings over direct USD conversion, avoiding import shipping overheads and currency exchange fees associated with physical boutique PC releases. Should New Blood partner with specialized physical distributors (such as Limited Run Games or Super Rare Games) for future console ports across Nintendo Switch successors or PlayStation 5, import landed costs will typically exceed RM200 to RM250 before customs handling. Gloomwood remains an exclusively digital PC release in Southeast Asia with no physical retail cartridges or discs currently available through import distributors.

Common Questions

What genre does New Blood Interactive use to describe Gloomwood?

New Blood Interactive prefers categorizing Gloomwood as a role-playing game or action-stealth experience, arguing that broader genre terminology improves storefront discoverability and avoids the commercial stigma tied to the "immersive sim" designation.

Is Gloomwood available physically on PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch?

No, Gloomwood is currently an Early Access title exclusive to PC via Steam. There are no official physical or digital releases for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox platforms at this stage.

Does Gloomwood support regional languages in Southeast Asia?

No, Gloomwood currently provides official interface, audio, and subtitle support exclusively in English. No Southeast Asian localized text options (such as Malay, Indonesian, or Thai) have been integrated during the Early Access roadmap.

Sources and Methodology

Information sourced directly from New Blood Interactive executive statements published via PC Gamer and Rock Paper Shotgun editorial coverage covering Gloomwood and the commercial viability of immersive sim marketing. Pricing data verified against regional Steam digital pricing standards and base USD conversion metrics as of October 2026.