Curve Digital has cast more light on its plans to bring the first game based on Peaky Blinders to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC in summer 2020.
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a puzzle-adventure game based on the multi-award-winning TV show where players will pull the strings as Tommy Shelby and his gang seek to take control of the streets of Birmingham in the early 20th century. Set right before the events of the first season, players will join the Shelby family’s criminal organisation as they discover a sinister plot to put Tommy out of business. The game taps directly into Tommy’s talent for planning complex scenarios in his head, with players forming strategies by taking control of key members of the Shelby family down on the ground.
It’s a crafty, credible, and most importantly creative take on the world of Peaky Blinders that, as James Marsden, Game Director at FuturLab explains, saw the development team use a key juncture in the series as the inspiration for the core mechanic employed in play:
“There’s a point in the show where Tommy Shelby explains he has no concern for the past, nor the future; all he cares about is a crucial moment he recalls the soldier’s minute,” details Marsden. “We designed our game around that idea, allowing the player to plan actions backward and forward in time, choreographing an ensemble cast of characters to synchronise their actions during these crucial moments. The player gets to feel like the smart and sophisticated leader that Tommy is, so we think becoming the mastermind will resonate with fans of the show and gamers alike.”
As Marsden describes, in Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, players will be able to freely set and rewind each character’s path in order to tune all of their actions for perfect coordination, tactically utilising characters and stealth to solve increasingly complex puzzles. It’s an inventive take on the series that suitably impressed publisher Curve Digital.
“We were floored by James and Kirsty’s original idea for a Peaky Blinders game,” says Simon Byron, Publishing Director, Curve Digital. “At its heart, Peaky Blinders is a story about a family, and capturing the ability to control the Shelbys simultaneously across the game’s narrative is such a smart way to bring the show to life. The mechanic they’ve created to allow players to directly control Tommy, Arthur, Polly, John, Ada and Finn across one looping timeline opens up unique gameplay possibilities, stylishly brought to life in FuturLab’s trademark gorgeous art style. It’s a game that almost defies categorisation – part action, part puzzle, part adventure, but all inventive.
“There’s often scepticism about licensed titles, so we’ve worked really hard to ensure this is a game which stands within the Peaky Blinders universe, whilst bringing something completely fresh and original. We’ve lived with the secret for a while now. It’s such a relief to be finally able to unveil Peaky Blinders: Mastermind.”
Key to the game’s development has been the involvement of those behind the source material, with Steven Knight – Peaky Blinders creator and writer – commenting: “Peaky Blinders has become more than a TV show, it has become a worldwide phenomenon. With the launch of the Peaky Blinders: Mastermind game we are inviting you to enter that world and take part in it, live in it and take your place beside the Shelby family as they fight for their very survival. You’re going to have to be as smart as Tommy, as tough as Arthur, as ruthless as Polly. Good luck and remember, you really are a Peaky Blinder now.”
Jamie Glazebrook, Executive Producer at Caryn Mandabach Productions adds, “As the TV show continues
to find new audiences around the world, it’s a real thrill to see Peaky Blinders brought to life as a video game, especially in a way that properly understands that the Shelbys are about brains just as much as they are about brawn. I’ve no doubt that Peaky Blinders: Mastermind will prove every bit as addictive and immersive as the series that inspired it.”
