During Gamescom 2026 in Germany, I got an extended preview of Saw: Genesis, the upcoming multiplayer horror game from Broken Mirror Games, Anshar Studios and Bloober Team. And while the game is set nearly a century before the events of the Saw films, the influence of the franchise’s most infamous figure is unmistakable even if John Kramer is nowhere to be found.
Set in the bleak aftermath of World War I, Saw: Genesis puts three players in the roles of the Accused, who must work together to survive a series of traps, puzzles and painful sacrifices. A fourth player takes on the role of the Judge, a potentially early predecessor to the philosophy that would eventually be associated with Kramer’s Jigsaw. The game turns Saw into a 3v1 asymmetrical multiplayer experience, but its developers were determined to preserve the twisted moral logic that has always been at the heart of the franchise. During my preview, I quickly learned that “survival” is a relative term — particularly when keeping an eye intact is part of the bargain.
I spoke with Anshar Studios’ creative director Damian Kocurek about bringing Saw into the multiplayer space, building out its mythology, and why, despite appearances, the Judges aren’t technically trying to kill you.
DEADLINE: What did the talks with Lionsgate and James Wan look like when it came to approaching Saw: Genesis?
DAMIAN KOCUREK: Bloober Team has a previous connection with Lionsgate because they made 2019’s Blair Witch. So that’s why we [Anshar Studios] even started working on Saw. And during production, we did have calls with Lionsgate. They helped us a lot by making sure we didn’t break the IP and maintained a style that fit the narrative of that world. With James, we had a similar conversation, and he’s seen the game to make sure it works and that we are in constant contact.
Saw: Genesis
Bloober Team
DEADLINE: This game takes place in the 1920s. Was there ever a conversation to have it in more modern times? Why did the 1920s feel right for you guys?
KOCUREK: We were looking for a few things at first. We wanted to have some creative freedom with it, create something original, and not conflict with the movies. There are 10 movies currently and more being made, so it’s very easy to create conflicts that take you out of that experience, so we wanted to build on top of it. Once we had that, we then looked for a setting, and the 1920s after the First World War—there is a lot to mine there. Many people are in trouble; there’s the great depression, and the country is trying to rebuild. So we thought, this is where a person could operate without being found out, so they could disappear into history and leave a very soft connection to something that happened later.
DEADLINE: How would you explain the narrative for this game for the folks at home?
KOCUREK: The basic setup for the game is that several characters are accused. Like the films, they are trapped and trying to escape. And in each match, there is one Judge, that’s the Jigsaw character. And the judge is “testing” those characters by trying to rehabilitate them. These characters have their own backgrounds that explain why they are judged and why they are in the test.
We will have two different Judges, and the one during this preview is called the Doctor. He’s a victim after taking part in the First World War, and he lost his jaw during that, so he’s trying to help people in the gruesome way of the Saw series.
Saw: Genesis
Bloober Team
DEADLINE: Saw is known for its gnarly mutilation and traps, which I think you all certainly honor in this game. But what was something you couldn’t compromise on when approaching bringing this to life?
KOCUREK: There were a few things. So, even though we are making a multiplayer game, there’s a lot of lore-based stuff. What comes to mind mostly right now is that the Judges aren’t killers. They don’t try to kill those people.
DEADLINE: What? That is not what I experienced in my gameplay just moments ago. I had to gouge my eye out to live!
KOCUREK: The Judges are trying to help those people in their own twisted way [laughs]. That’s why I call this a rehabilitation. The Judges’ ultimate goal is to put the Accused in a Saw trap, and make them make a sacrifice, as you mentioned, but that’s the goal of the game. Not just killing people.
DEADLINE: No way.
KOCUREK: Well, yes, because in the movies, originally Jigsaw has that mantra about having that will to survive to be able to live. And for us it’s similar, but imperfect. Our Judges are more like, “You’ve committed sins, and you need to pay a pound of flesh, and only then can you move forward.” So, that’s the kind of similarities we wanted to keep.
DEADLINE: OK, but I still died several times.
KOCUREK: Yeah [laughs].
Saw: Genesis
Bloober Team
DEADLINE: How did this game technology expand the world of the Saw movies?
KOCUREK: We were a little worried about what we could and couldn’t do. Because we’re in the first person, our game is more visceral because you don’t see things from the outside. The player has to be in it. So, a lot of the basics are more visceral because it happens to you as an avatar in the game, but it also limits us on what we can do because you don’t always see. A lot of the traps in Saw are very elaborate, and some devices target people’s backs or legs. So, we are trying to stay true to the movies as well, and we want people to have similar reactions to those things in the game.
And I think it works; we’ve seen people get very shocked by what they go through. I’m not sure it’s purely technological, but we definitely know games treat gore differently in many ways, especially given censorship levels. So, we are definitely different in that sense.
Saw: Genesis does not have a current scheduled release date as of this writing. However, they are in active playtest stages which you can sign up for here.
