Returnal Director Harry Krueger on Arcade DNA and His New Studio

For Harry Krueger, the transition from playing Quake 3: Arena in Greece to directing Returnal was a journey defined by a deep-seated love for arcade action. As part of our Disk Cleanup series, we sat down with the former Housemarque director to discuss the games that shaped his career and the philosophy behind his upcoming projects at his new studio, Cosmic Division.

From Housemarque to Cosmic Division

Krueger’s industry roots run deep, starting as a programmer at Finnish developer Housemarque. After contributing to titles like Outland and Resogun, he took the helm as Game Director for 2017's Nex Machina and the 2021 roguelike Returnal, the latter of which earned four BAFTAs, including Best Game. Since leaving Housemarque in 2022, Krueger has been focused on building a “lean and mean” studio with Cosmic Division.

“We want to be a lean and mean studio that makes evocative gameplay-first experiences,” Krueger says of the new venture. While he is keeping details on the studio's debut title under wraps, he confirms that fans of his previous work will find familiar ground: “I think players will also be pleasantly surprised,” he adds, noting that the game will carry the “arcade action DNA” of Housemarque’s finest titles.

The Inspirations Behind the Bullet-Hell

When asked about the games he keeps installed on his PC, Krueger pointed to Ikaruga as his ultimate touchstone. “It’s one of my favourite and most influential games of all time,” he explains. “It’s not only for the bullet-hell gameplay that it has, but also for the elegance and beauty of its formula.”

This minimalist approach to design and narrative was central to his work on Returnal and Nex Machina. To manage the complexity of developing such titles, Krueger relies on PureRef, a tool he uses to organize visual references. “I find it almost like a distillation process that you have all these raw materials in one large vat, and then you slowly, iteratively distil it down to the bare essentials,” he says.

Gaming Habits and Favorites

Outside of his own development work, Krueger maintains a high bar for the games he plays. He recently completed Resident Evil: Requiem, praising its balance of power fantasy and vulnerability. “I think it’s a phenomenal mixture of action and horror,” he notes. He also spent time with Return to Monkey Island, which he called a “true return to form” for the series, despite finding it slightly easier than the early entries he grew up with.

His all-time favorite, however, remains the original Deus Ex. “I still consider it maybe the best cyberpunk story ever told,” Krueger says. He keeps it installed on his PC as a reminder of his own history, noting that he often approaches it with a completionist’s mindset. “I find it genuinely beneficial and inspiring to revisit some of these games that help shape us.”

When he isn't replaying classics, Krueger spends his time in Tetris Effect—a game he has logged over 200 hours in. It serves as his go-to for entering a “flow state.” For a designer who has spent his career crafting intense bullet-hell experiences, it is fitting that his preferred method of relaxation involves the simple, crunchy satisfaction of a perfectly executed Tetris loop.