Serious Sam: The Third Encounter Announced as a Direct Sequel to the Classic Second Encounter
Croteam is going back to its roots. The studio and publisher Devolver Digital have revealed Serious Sam: The Third Encounter, a new entry in the long running arcade shooter series that picks up the story right where the fan favorite Second Encounter left off decades ago.
Picking Up Right Where The Second Encounter Left Off
The game was unveiled on October 21 with a teaser trailer and a new Steam page, and Croteam has been clear that this is not a spinoff or a side story. The Third Encounter continues directly from Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, sending Sam Stone after the intergalactic tyrant Mental’s Horde at its source.
“Not a side story. A true continuation.”
Croteam, Steam store page
Sam Stone takes aim at a fresh wave of enemies in an early screenshot from Serious Sam: The Third Encounter.
Early Development, Classic Arcade Chaos
Croteam describes the project as being in early development, so there is no release window yet, but the first screenshots already show the series’ trademark mix of sprawling ancient ruins, oversized monster hordes, and over the top firepower. The Steam listing promises bigger hordes and bigger guns, alongside solo play and online co-op for players who want to take on the Horde with friends.
The pitch places The Third Encounter as the direct work of the team behind Serious Sam: The First Encounter and the more recent Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, rather than a reboot built by a different studio. That matters to longtime fans, since the mainline series previously moved into fully 3D territory with Serious Sam 2, Serious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam 4, while The Third Encounter instead slots directly after the two classic episodic games from the early 2000s.
Ancient desert ruins return as a backdrop, with a glowing new enemy type shown lurking among the rocks.
A Response to Shatterverse?
The announcement comes a little over a year after Serious Sam: Shatterverse, a co-op roguelite spinoff built by Behaviour Interactive rather than Croteam, landed to a lukewarm response from longtime fans. The Third Encounter looks like a deliberate course correction, trading that experiment for the straightforward run and gun formula the series built its reputation on, with Croteam itself back in the driver’s seat.
With no release date confirmed and the game still early in production, it may be a while before players get to step back into Sam’s boots. Still, for a series built on relentless momentum, the mere announcement that the classic team is returning to a classic storyline is already enough to get longtime fans excited.
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Picture Source: Devolver Digital
