Greg Kasavin and Amir Rao describe the experience of watching their hit game become foundational for other developers.

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Supergiant Games' Greg Kasavin and Amir Rao reflect on how Hades accidentally spawned the 'Hades-like' subgenre of roguelikes. Speaking at the 2026 DICE Awards after winning Best Action Game for Hades II, they describe the experience as 'surreal'—they saw themselves as simply making their own spin on an existing genre, not inventing a new one. Key innovations like run-based storytelling, a home-base hub between runs, and narrative-driven character interactions became a replicable template adopted by games like Spiritfall, Curse of the Dead Gods, and Sworn. Both developers emphasize that the subgenre label emerged entirely from player reception after Early Access, not from any deliberate design intent.

Hades devs: accidentally inventing a subgenre was 'surreal'