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Hypercharge: Unboxed devs on the game's origins & persevering through setbacks

Digital Cybercherries lead Joe Henson spoke to us about how Hypercharge: Unboxed was conceived and then reborn after a rough first launch.

TJ Denzer

August 31, 2022 4:40 PM

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Hypercharge: Unboxed is a game that has been through quite the process of development, release, and re-release. Digital Cybercherries had quite an idea on their hands with a first-person shooter involving various toys fighting their way around backyards, kitchens, and toy aisles, but it didn’t truly catch fire till 2020. Now, the relatively small team has quite a few eyes on the game and the future is looking brighter for Hypercharge: Unboxed. We recently sat down with Digital Cybercherries lead Joe Henson to talk about the origins of the game and how the developers took initial failure and turned it into success.

According to Henson, the conception of Hypercharge: Unboxed began with a get-together between friends. He claims they were talking about games they loved, and particularly Counter-Strike. Meanwhile, Small Soldiers happened to be playing on the TV in the background as they talked. As they reminisced over their favorite shooter, Small Soldiers got them thinking on what it would be like if they could take good shooting mechanics and apply it to action figures.

The team worked hard on Hypercharge, taking inspiration from the likes of Counter-Strike, Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes, and more, but success didn’t come easy. When the team originally launched, Hypercharge didn’t get the traction it needed to survive. According to Henson, the team was faced with a decision: Do they give up and abandon the project or try to salvage it? Thankfully, they chose the latter. Hypercharge: Unboxed was launched in a sort of Early Access 2.0, and came to the Nintendo Switch and PC. What’s more, it found traction with the help of Tik Tok and YouTube videos that helped it to gain popularity and find its way to a larger audience. Be sure to check out the entire story in the video above.

Want more videos like this Hypercharge: Unboxed interview? Be sure to check out our YouTube channels at Shacknews and GamerHubTV. That’s where you’ll find our latest video reviews, gameplay, interviews, unboxings and more on the latest video games, toys, and technology. You can also check out Hypercharge: Unboxed on PC and Switch now.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.