Devolver Digital's Weedcraft Inc. is a tycoon game about growing marijuana
Papers, please.
Devolver Digital has announced Weedcraft Inc., a new tycoon game about on growing, breeding, selling, and distributing marijuana in America.
Weedcraft is the work of Polish studio Vile Monarch (who previously developed Oh Sir: The Insult Simulator and barbarian RTS Crush Your Friends), and is pitched as an exploration of "the financial, political and cultural aspects of the country's complex relationship with this troublesome and promising plant."
On the face of though, and despite its potentially controversial subject matter, Weedcraft Inc. doesn't sound all that far removed from your traditional management tycoon game.
As ever, your ultimate goal is market supremacy, and in order to successfully grow and distribute your product as you work through Weedcraft's scenarios, you'll need to hire staff, manage your resources, and keep an eye on the competition - crossbreeding and cultivating new strains of weed to stay ahead of the curve and grow your empire. If you squint a bit, you can see at least some of that in Devolver's rather busy announcement trailer:
Devolver says that Weedcraft tackles its subject in an "insightful and detailed manner", and there's a focus on the social and political elements inherent in the game's theme too. "Decide when and where to take on extra risk to maximize profit," it says, "but be careful, the cops and politicians are all working their own angles."
To that end, you'll be able to schmooze with politicians, bribe the police, and work to change laws - campaigning for medical marijuana rights or doing whatever needs to be done to work the legal system to your advantage.
Weedcraft Inc. is currently scheduled to launch on PC some time in 2019.