Monster Theater Games Announces Their Fourth Release: Skijoring
- thehauntspot
- Jan 20
- 3 min read
Your New Favorite Indie Game Developer and Publisher
After going public in 2024 with their debut game Atomic Owl, Monster Theater, an independent game developer, turned their sights to publishing. Earlier this month, the indie company announced their fourth release, Skijoring, the goofiest co-op racing game.
Eldar, studio founder, wanted to create games since his early childhood. In 2022, his partner gave him the push he needed to open his own studio. "We just want to capture that feeling again of being a kid, playing Sonic the Hedgehog, or being lost in the Water Temple in Ocarina. We love games that harken back to the PlayStation One, Two, and Nintendo GameCube era of games. Weird zigzags and experimentation. Strange music, odd themes, and characters with spiky hair. " He recalls.
"Across the board, we're inspired by Japanese action RPGs, horror games, or just straight-up platformers that came out of Japan. The feeling of playing a spooky game made in another part of the world, with its own culture, made you feel enclosed and, honestly, kind of cool that you weren't just playing the most popular triple-A game out there. Overall, we wanted to make games that weirded out your folks."
The Colorado developer/publisher is no stranger to the horror genre. When creating his first game, Eldar confesses it was heavily inspired by a forgotten Mickey Mouse game from the SEGA genesis. "...that game was super special to me because it was my introduction to horror! Mickey Mouse? Yeah, I know, but the second level in that game featured the Lonesome Ghosts -- a concept completely foreign to me at the time. The perfect fusion of spooky, Halloween vibes, mixed with eerie xylophone-laden tunes, and...skeleton spiders! It was perfect, and I think about it every other day at a minimum."
While Eldar showcases his love in every aspect of the games, he stresses the importance of a strong score. "I think an unforgettable soundtrack is, largely speaking, the most important thing an indie game can have--secondary to a strong game loop." He says. When talking about the creation of Atomic Owl, the collaboration with XennonOfficial had a clear goal of creating memorable "bangers for players to hum when they weren't playing the game," he explains. "I think it's the bridge between memory and experience for players of indie games specifically...I want players to listen to the Atomic Owl soundtrack years from now and get that pang of nostalgia that I feel when I hear anything from the Dark Cloud soundtrack or from early Street Fighter OSTs on YouTube. Cmon, man. That's the magic. "
In addition to the Mickey nostalgia, Horror played a massive role in the lives of the team. "For most of us, horror was found in every aspect of our collective knowledge of video games, movies, books--you name it. Our little brains were filled with a combination of survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, coupled with zombie movies from the early aughts, disaster flicks (do those count as movies?), and jun "action horror" cinematic romps like Mandy, Evil Dead, Color Out of Space, etc."
Though they haven't released a horror game yet, we were reassured that 2026 is the year that changes. "You're probably thinking, "wait, they haven't made a horror game?" and to that, I say, we are publishing TWO horror games in 2026! So...take that!"
Skijoring will be available on Steam in 2026.
