belgrade as a game environment

This article was developed within the program Venture an Idea funded by the USAID.

After the success of the video game 'Golf Club: Wasteland' and the announcement of the game 'The Cub', Serbian game dev studio Demagog announced its new title 'Highwater', which should soon be available for gamers around the world.

Highwater is a 3D adventure game led by a story in a flooded post-apocalyptic urban environment with the recognizable brutalist architecture of Belgrade, as well as original music broadcast on radio stations. In the midst of a major climate catastrophe, the flooded Hightower region, mockingly renamed Highwater amid the devastating flood, has become a sort of safe zone between two arid regions: the nearly globally devastated war zone and the fortified city of Alphaville, where the ultra-rich live behind huge walls.

After the heroes from the Golf Club: Wasteland, we now meet Nikos, a young man who is persistent in finding a better life (environment) for himself and his friends that he will gather along the way on his perilous journey. They must first reach the Hightower region and then beyond the impenetrable borders of Alphaville, fighting the rebels and stealing food along the way.

Life on Earth is becoming unsustainable for humans and the situation is getting worse day by day. However, there is a rumor that the rich will soon be evacuated to Mars with a rocket, aptly named 'Mission of Hope', and it will motivate our heroes not to give up. Will Nikos and his friends manage to sneak into the rocket in time? We will find out in December when the Highwater title will be available, while for now, it is possible to add it to the Steam Wishlist.

In the meanwhile, you can enjoy playing Golf Club Wasteland which is available for PC and consoles. 

Demagog studio started as a team of four in 2012 with small experimental mobile games. In 2017, they gathered a bigger team of seven and made Golf Club: Wasteland. Early in 2021, the studio began working with two publishers on The Cub and Highwater within the same universe. The studio now has twenty people.

Their approach consists of several important ingredients: a sharp idea about modern life; storytelling with engaging characters; world-building; stories told through nonlinear media with a focus on gaming. 

Check out the official trailer!

For additional relevant stories visit our Belgrade Insights page.

This program is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this program are the responsibility of Nova Iskra and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.