Xbox’s Project Belfry may have RPG elements, according to a job listing

Project Belfry, the unannounced Xbox exclusive reportedly in development at The Banner Saga studio Stoic, could feature RPG elements and a loot system, according to a job listing.

According to a job listing spotted by Twitter user Idle Sloth, the developer is looking for a Systems Designer that has “MMO or ARPG game experience.” It’s also looking for someone that’s designed systems relating to “loot and reward allocation”.

Unlike Stoic’s most notable previous release, The Banner Saga, Project Belfry is understood to be a 2D side-scrolling action game, a genre which could easily accommodate a loot system or RPG elements. The game is yet to be officially announced.

Information about the game first emerged last year when Jez Corden of Windows Central stated during a podcast that he was aware of an Xbox exclusive with the codename Belfry, but that he wasn’t sure what it was about, other than a reference to bell towers.

This information was expanded on at the time by journalist Jeff Grubb, who claimed during a Giant Bomb video show that the game is in development at Stoic Studio, the team behind The Banner Saga trilogy.

According to Grubb, the game will have a similar hand-painted look to the Banner Saga games, but while those titles are tactical RPGs, Project Belfry will be more of a 2D side-scrolling action game.

Grubb cited Vanillaware‘s PlayStation exclusive Dragon’s Crown as an example of the sort of game Project Belfry will be similar to.

He also claimed that the art style would resemble Studio Ghibli’s film Princess Mononoke, and that the belfry in the title will be a base where players can likely craft and upgrade items.

Stoic Studio released The Banner Saga in 2014, with sequels in 2016 and 2018, but it’s not publicly known what it’s been working on over the past three years.

All three games in the trilogy have been critically successful, with each title sitting between 80-84 on Metacritic depending on format.