Black Matter

Black Matter was an independent Australian game developer best known as the creator and original developer of Hell Let Loose, a tactical multiplayer first-person shooter set during World War II. Founded in 2015 by game designer Maximilian Rea, the studio operated as an internationally distributed team.

Its work focused on large-scale combined arms combat, historical settings and communication-driven multiplayer design. Built on Unreal Engine 4, Hell Let Loose brought together 50-versus-50 platoon battles, resource management and expansive battlefields described as being at 1:1 scale. Infantry, vehicles and coordinated tactics formed central parts of its approach to combat.

Black Matter's development capabilities included game mechanics and systems design, 3D environment and character modeling, multiplayer networking, server engineering, and Unreal Engine architecture and optimization. These disciplines supported its development of a game centered on teamwork and emergent battlefield encounters.

Development and publishing history

The studio launched the Kickstarter campaign for Hell Let Loose in October 2017 and announced a global publishing partnership with Team17 in November 2018. The game entered Steam Early Access in June 2019, followed by its full PC release in July 2021 and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S editions in October 2021.

In January 2022, Team17 acquired the intellectual property, rights and assets associated with Hell Let Loose. Black Matter continued supporting post-launch development under a transitional agreement before responsibility passed to Cover 6 Studios and Expression Games in 2023.

Black Matter subsequently ceased independent development, and its Australian legal entity entered solvent members' voluntary liquidation in June 2023. Rea and the core development team went on to establish Good Fun Corporation, a separate successor studio in the United Kingdom. That company's projects, including HUNGER, belong to the successor's portfolio rather than Black Matter's.