Last Updated on Oct 28, 2025 @ 14:18:31 PM.
After its announcement back in June, I had the opportunity to talk to the devs behind the upcoming title, Call of the Elder Gods, regarding this brand-new project. During this interview, I had the opportunity to talk to two different members of staff within the studio Out of the Blue, the first being Tatiana Delgado, one of the co-founders of Out of the Blue, as well as the creative director behind Call of the Elder Gods, and the second being Alfredo Gonzalez-Barros Camba, the lead narrative designer and writer of the said title.
Throughout the years, both of these devs have worked on numerous projects both in and out of the studio, Out of the Blue, but now they are currently working on Call of the Elder Gods, the game we are here to talk about. During this interview, we talked about a few different aspects within Call of the Elder Gods, such as its connections to Out of the Blue’s older title, Call of the Sea, the inspirations behind both of these titles, and even some of the locations that players will be exploring within Call of the Elder Gods.
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| Due to this being a written/speech interview, some answers have been edited for clarity/brevity, without removing intent and context. |
For those who may be big fans of Out of the Blue as a studio, they may be wondering whether or not Call of the Elder Gods is simply just connected to your previous title, Call of the Sea, or is a direct sequel. Is there any information you can provide to clarify this?
Call of the Elder Gods is set several decades after the events of Call of the Sea. It follows returning character Harry Everhart, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, who was a major character in Call of the Sea, and new character Evangeline Drayton, as they search through time and space for their lost loved ones.
Since Call of the Sea is in some way connected to Call of the Elder Gods, will these stories overlap, and if so, will players be recommended to play Call of the Sea before this new title releases?
We are creating the story in a way that it can be enjoyed as a standalone experience. But players who have played Call of the Sea will recognize elements of it as a reward to our fans.
During the trailer, we can see that a familiar character from Call of the Sea makes an appearance within Call of the Elder Gods. What led to your decision to use this character within Call of the Elder Gods?
While we were developing Call of the Sea, it was clear to us that we wanted to know more about Harry after the post-credits scene. Our initial idea was to create a series of games that focused on different Lovecraftian tales, and for this second game, we wanted to continue the story where the post-credits scene finished.
Throughout the trailer, we get a few glimpses of being able to play as two separate characters within Call of the Elder Gods. What led to this design choice rather than a single-player character?
When we made Call of the Sea, it was our first game as a studio, and we didn’t have the experience or the resources to include more characters. But after developing American Arcadia, we realized how many possibilities opened up for storytelling and character development when characters could have conversations with each other and with others. And now, with the experience we’ve gained, we loved the idea of bringing that into the world of Call of the Elder Gods.
One of the biggest surprises within the Call of the Elder Gods trailer was the mythical and monstrous entities that lurk within the title. Was there a challenge in finding the right mythical entities to place in the game?
Each of our games is based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, which we reinterpret in our own way. In the case of Call of the Sea, the story was The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and for Call of the Elder Gods, we chose The Shadow Out of Time, a story we love that offered us many possibilities thanks to its particular take on time travel. That’s where the presence of that creature in the trailer art comes from.
Since Call of the Elder Gods is jumping right into the creepiest and darkest monsters known to man, will players be able to expect some moments of dread and scares, or will these be dialed back to ensure a relaxing and investigative experience?
As in Call of the Sea, we will focus more on the atmosphere than on the horror aspects of the game. There will be no jump scares in the game. But this game will be a bit darker than Call of the Sea.
During the trailer, we can see that one of the main characters is plagued by one of the evil entities in terms of the story, but will this dark influence impact the gameplay in any way with unique mechanics?
It will be a narrative element and very important for the development of the story. That said, the gameplay is mainly focused on puzzles like Call of the Sea.
One thing that players will notice within the Call of the Elder Gods trailer is how it seems to feature numerous different locations from all over the globe. What inspired the dev team to use these different locations? Was it solely the inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Shadow out of Time,” or was there another inspiration at play?
We don’t want to spoil the story too much, but it was partly because of the story of The Shadow Out of Time, and also partly because we wanted to move beyond purely tropical environments and explore other settings like the Australian Outback or a frozen environment.
One of the most stunning parts of Call of the Sea was the locations it was set in, as there were plenty of unique and beautiful places to explore. Can we expect more of these locations within Call of the Elder Gods than what we have already glimpsed at within the trailer?
Yes, we want to surprise the player with many beautiful locations. One of the design principles in Call of the Sea was to create environments where the players would love to spend hours exploring and solving puzzles because of how beautiful they were.
As we can see, Call of the Elder Gods continues with the puzzle adventure genre Out of the Blue is already familiar with; however, it does raise the question. Does creating new and interesting puzzles become harder over time or easier after creating 3 games engulfed with puzzles?
In order to not be stuck, we usually add some new elements. In this case, we have two characters on one side, and on the other side, we have introduced some new ways of interacting with the assets, inspired by games like The Room.
During development, were there many occasions in which you had designed specific puzzles that you felt were too complicated or just didn’t fit the story, leaving them on the cutting room floor?
Yes, there are some puzzles that are either too easy, too difficult, or just boring. We love to do a lot of playtesting to test that we are on the right path.
For those familiar with your previous titles, will there be any form of Easter eggs for them to keep an eye out for as they progress through Call of the Elder Gods?
Yes, we love Easter eggs! Expect to find plenty of them.
What is one misconception or idea that people have of what you do that couldn’t be further from the truth and, ultimately, really annoys you?
That the quality of a game is measured by the number of hours of gameplay it offers. I think that’s something that is completely unrelated to the quality of a game, and that there are incredible experiences that last 4 or 6 hours. Extending them further would actually be worse for the essence of that game.
What did you learn from the development of your first game, both from yourselves and from fans that played and reviewed your previous game?
We are fans of puzzle games, and one of our goals was to bring this genre to a broader audience. In Call of the Sea we believe we succeeded in that, but there were still people that thought that our puzzles were either too easy or too difficult. So that is why in Call of the Elder Gods we have added tools so the players can adjust their difficulty and experience.
At the time of writing, Call of the Elder Gods is set to release in 2026 with no set release date.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out our review of P1: Anchor Light or check out our ranking of the many Resident Evil characters.
Liam is a Senior Editor, Writer, and Critic for Thumb Wars and has been working with the team since day one. Liam is a big fan of all things gaming, as you will catch him playing all of the new releases from every genre you can imagine. Whether you find Liam gaming just for fun or spending his free time streaming, you will always find a smile on his face when it comes to all things gaming.
