When a trailer for Midnight Murder Club, a lights-out multiplayer party shooter, aired at The Game Awards last December, I clocked the developer logo immediately. It was Velan Studios, the folks behind the dodgeball brawler Knockout City. That game was excellent, but like so many live service games that cultivate a modest audience, it died an early death in 2023. The experience had me reflexively worried for Midnight Murder Club, another multiplayer-only game—was Velan going down the same free-to-play road hoping that more people buy skins and battle passes this time?
Not at all, as I learned while chatting with the Midnight Murder Club team last week. They're a much smaller outfit than made Knockout City, and the new game isn't quite so ambitious. The pitch is simple: Six players are locked in a mansion with the lights turned off, armed with a gun and a flashlight. No seasons, no battle pass—you just get unlocks by playing. It's pitch-black deathmatch with optional twists and a handful of modes. It already looks fun, and it's trying something genuinely surprising with its price tag.
