Sword of the Sea

Sword of the Sea is an upcoming adventure video game developed and published by Giant Squid. The game is set to be released for Windows and PlayStation 5 in August 2025.

Sword of the Sea
Developer(s)	Giant Squid
Publisher(s)	Giant Squid
Director(s)	Matt Nava
Composer(s)	Austin Wintory
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 5
Release	August 19, 2025
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gameplay

In Sword of the Sea, the player assumes control of a Wraith, who explores an abandoned, desolate world and bring life back to it. The Wraith explores the world with a hoversword, which combines parts of a snowboard, a skateboard, and a hoverboard into one. As the player explores the world, they will collect Ocean Seeds, which will bring back water to the desert wasteland after interacting with it. Returning the ocean to the world provides new opportunities for surfing, and the returning marine life opens up paths for exploration. The Wraith will move faster in an ocean region. The player can find Tetra, and sell them to vendors to unlock skateboarding tricks.^[1] While the game is about surfing the landscape using the hoversword and keeping momentum, the player will battle large creatures named leviathans at certain points.^[2]

Development

Sword of the Sea is being developed by Giant Squid, the studio behind Abzû and The Pathless. The game was directed by Matt Nava, who worked as the art director of Journey, a game also set in a desert.^[3] Nava decided to return to a desert landscape for Sword of the Sea because he felt he had many ideas that were not used in Journey. Austin Wintory, a frequent collaborator of Nava's, composed the music. As with Journey, Sword of the Sea has no dialogue, and its storytelling relies on its visuals and music.^[2]

The gameplay is influenced by skateboarding games such as 1080° Snowboarding, though Sword of the Sea is an exploration-focused game rather than a score-based game.^[4] The team drew from their experiences with scuba diving, snowboarding, and surfing while working on Sword of the Sea, reflecting on how these extreme sports foster a "spiritual connection" with nature. Nava stated that players must "harness" the waves while surfing, and added that the game focuses on developing the relationship between the player and the environment. Early prototypes of Sword of the Sea included elements commonly found in Sonic the Hedgehog games, such as speed boosts and grind rails, but these were later removed as Nava felt they didn't fit the style. Shadow of the Colossus inspired the leviathan encounters.^[5]

Giant Squid unveiled Sword of the Sea in May 2023.^[6] It is set to be released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 19, 2025.^[7]