Thunder Games plans Wedgetail PC launch on Steam by end of 2027By Luís Henrique Costa
4 min read
 |
Brazilian studio Thunder Games is developing Wedgetail for PC, with plans to open the game to the public on Steam by December 31, 2027. The project takes the hero shooter formula, in which each fighter has specific powers, and turns it into tactical duels between aircraft split into attack, defense and support roles.
Production has reached about 40% completion in a playable pre-alpha stage. The build already includes competitive progression, a battle pass and customizable visual items. To fund its own title without relying only on outside investment, the São Paulo company runs corporate gamification services for brands such as Walmart, Brasilprev and Terra Brasil Minerals.
Key figures on Wedgetail’s development and Steam plans
- Official title: Wedgetail
- Developer and publisher: Thunder Games
- Confirmed platform: PC, through Steam
- Public release deadline: December 31, 2027
- Current stage: playable pre-alpha, 40% complete
- Minimum budget for a BGS 2027 booth: R$ 200,000.00
How the game turns São Paulo into a battlefield in the sky
The story is set in 2084, when a corporate toxic fog covered the lower areas of the metropolises and forced the construction of suspended platforms. In this retro-futuristic science fiction world, seven megacorporations finance elite squadrons and host the Wedgetail Tournament, a competition that grants prestige and citizenship rights to the best pilots.
One of the central maps, called Chronicler Network, recreates the state capital under the control of a corporate artificial intelligence. Congonhas Airport serves as the command base for the fleets, while the Liberdade neighborhood sits among fiber-optic cables and neon signs. Matches feature weather changes, and the modes include Capture the Point, Team Deathmatch, rotating control zones and individual mastery missions for practicing maneuvers and shots.
Aircraft roles and arcade pace in tactical combat
Wedgetail aircraft have defined roles that push players to cooperate, with options for precision bombing, defensive armor and jamming enemy radars. Although the game uses an aviation theme, it follows the speed and accessibility of arcade titles, taking rhythm references from Rocket League and Fortnite to reach young players and frequent competitors.
“We have been developing our own e-sports game with the goal of creating an innovative gameplay concept by combining traditional hero shooters with airplanes. It is a game that simulates air combat and tests skills and strategy,” said Bruna Simões, CEO of Thunder Games. The executive stressed that the immediate priority is to validate competitive balance with real users before expanding promotion.
Check out: Galago Group debuts Tiny Harbor demo on Steam for idle management
Free-to-play model under review as server costs rise
Earlier announcements presented Wedgetail as free to play, but Thunder Games is reviewing whether it will keep that model or charge players directly on Steam. The final decision depends on measuring fixed server costs and on how players respond to cosmetic items and season passes during the experimental phases.
“If the public does not spend enough to cover what the game costs, it is not even for production, it is for keeping it online. The company simply has to shut down the game service,” said Bruna Simões. The executive explained that the company has not yet set revenue estimates for the launch, since earnings will depend on the consumer behavior seen in the first closed tests.
The team aims to build an initial community with a retention rate between 25% and 30%, gathering about 1,000 frequent active users with a stable routine of five hours per week. According to the developer’s leadership, this critical mass is needed so multiplayer matchmaking queues run continuously, without long waits between matches.
“We do not need an astronomical number. We need a number of people who have solidity in the game,” said the CEO of Thunder Games. She said that building an organized professional e-sports circuit is a goal for a minimum horizon of five years, depending on sustainable prizes and stable participation.
Follow: Deadlock hits record 228,000 concurrent players on Steam with City Never Sleeps patch
Marketing work funds the studio’s game development
Thunder Games started operating in 2019 with research into blockchain technology, a model it dropped for lack of market maturity. Between 2022 and 2023, the studio shifted its operations to building interactive scenarios in Fortnite Creative and Roblox Studio, a structure that enabled service contracts with advertising agencies and large brands.
This business line, called playable marketing, covers interactive campaigns in web browsers, apps for the real estate industry and in-person activations at shopping malls and hotels. The division made it possible to direct resources toward the aviation intellectual property since its first Brazilian investor. The studio is now studying a legal spin-off to formally separate the corporate unit from the entertainment development cell.
The game made its first public demonstration at the Brasil Game Show on October 9, 2025, at a 30-square-meter booth with eight computers for four-versus-four matches. For the 2027 edition of the fair, the studio estimates allocating at least R$ 200,000.00 to a larger booth.
Thunder Games has not yet set a start date for public distribution of Steam access keys, and it has not signed a contract with an international publisher for overseas distribution. Periodic tests with the existing community will continue over the coming months to calibrate controls and assess match stability. The game’s Steam store page still lists its release date as “Coming soon.”
