Tonda Ros has confirmed he will never develop a direct sequel to Blue Prince, his critically acclaimed puzzle-roguelite that earned multiple award nominations in 2024.
The indie developer made the statement during an interview with IGN. Ros’s position isn’t that a sequel would be technically impossible. He simply doesn’t want to make one. The decision reflects his broader creative philosophy about avoiding sequels entirely, preferring to focus on new projects rather than revisit existing work.
Blue Prince puts players inside a mansion where rooms are procedurally drafted onto a blueprint from a deck of cards. The goal is to reach Room 46, but the game continues far beyond that initial target with increasingly complex puzzle layers and hidden systems.
The game explores themes of grief, loss, and unresolved mysteries. Players never get complete answers to every question, including the fate of a major character. This intentional incompleteness ties directly into the game’s narrative about accepting what can’t be controlled or solved.
The worldbuilding is extensive. In-game documents reference institutions like the Pharias High Institute of Corarica, locations like Synka Labs, and nations such as Eraja. Theoretically, these elements could support additional stories in the same universe without being a direct sequel.
Blue Prince has drawn comparisons to other puzzle games built around revelation and discovery, particularly Outer Wilds and Return of the Obra Dinn. All three share a structure where the magic comes from the first-time experience of decoding hidden systems.
Going out on top
Ros joins a small group of developers who’ve deliberately walked away from sequel opportunities after breakout successes. The Outer Wilds team at Mobius Digital opted for an expansion over a full sequel. Lucas Pope moved to entirely new projects after Return of the Obra Dinn rather than creating Obra Dinn 2.
This approach runs counter to industry norms where successful indie games typically spawn franchises or major expansions. But for games built on discovery and mystery, capturing that same magic twice presents unique challenges that some creators simply choose not to face.
