despelote Coming to Consoles & PC on May 1: A Soccer Game About People
Gaming Staff • February 24, 2025
Pc Games Indie Game Role Playing Game Nintendo Switch Sony Playstation Microsoft Xbox SportsThe developers of despelote, Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena, along with publisher Panic, have announced that the game will be released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on May 1, 2025. To celebrate, a new trailer and a PC demo are now available. The game's release coincides with the start of Ludonarracon 2025, where despelote will be featured. The game has received four nominations for the 2025 Independent Games Festival Awards, including for The Seaumas Mcnally Grand Prize, Nuovo Award, Excellence in Narrative, and Excellence in Audio.
despelote is a soccer game that explores the streets and parks of Quito through the perspective of an 8-year-old named Julián. Players can dribble, pass, and shoot the soccer ball around town and see what happens when they kick it towards someone. The game features a physics-based soccer ball, a vibrant world full of characters, and is set in a dense town space with various activities and interactions. Photos and audio recorded on location in Ecuador are used to create a strong sense of place.
The game has already received several awards and nominations, including four nominations for the 2025 Independent Games Festival Awards, a Special Jury Mention at the 2023 Tribeca Festival, a Special Mention at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and a finalist for Best Game from Latin America at the 2024 gamescom LATAM Big Festival.
despelote is a semi-autobiographical tale of youth and takes about 2 hours to finish. The team behind the game includes Julián Cordero, a game designer from Quito, Ecuador, based in NYC, Sebastián Valbuena, an animator and musician from Quito, Gabe Cuzzillo as a producer, Ian Berman for sound design, and Niall Tessier-Lavigne for programming. Panic Inc., a video game publisher based in Portland, Oregon, is also a part of the team.
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