Sunborn Reveals 2 New Shooters at Carnival Event

Sunborn Drops Double Reveal at Annual Carnival

Sunborn Network, the Chinese studio behind the popular Girls' Frontline franchise, unveiled 2 brand-new cooperative PVE shooter titles at its annual carnival event. Both Girls' Frontline: Blue Butterfly Contract and Reverse Collapse: F debuted with cinematic trailers, while the latter also showcased live gameplay footage — a rare move for a first reveal.

The double announcement signals Sunborn's aggressive push into the real-time action genre, moving beyond its tactical RPG roots into third-person shooter territory powered by Unreal Engine.

Girls' Frontline: Blue Butterfly Contract Enters the Arena

Blue Butterfly Contract is described as a third-person shooter with deep 'co-op battle' mechanics fused into a PVE framework. The debut PV teased a world caught between 'reality' and 'virtual' dimensions, featuring massive mechanical beasts and mysterious nations emerging from spatial anomalies.

Key details from the reveal include:

• Genre: Third-person cooperative PVE shooter
• Setting: A transformed world straddling real and virtual planes
• Status: Still in active development with no release window announced
• Franchise tie: Expands the Girls' Frontline universe with fresh lore and characters

The trailer carried Sunborn's signature aesthetic — militarized humanoid characters navigating a collapsing sci-fi world — but the shift to real-time shooting marks a significant gameplay departure.

Reverse Collapse: F Shows Actual Gameplay

Reverse Collapse: F made a stronger impression by pairing its cinematic PV with a live gameplay demonstration. Set in a near-future world devastated by 'collapse particle' contamination, the game follows survivors called 'the Blessed' who must enter anomalous spacetime zones to secure humanity's survival.

The title is built on Unreal Engine and positions itself as a fully cooperative PVE sci-fi shooter. Its setting connects to Sunborn's broader 'Reverse Collapse' narrative universe, which already includes the strategy title Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery that launched on Steam in 2024.

Showing live gameplay at a first reveal is notably confident. It suggests Reverse Collapse: F is further along in development than its sibling title.

What This Means for the Market

Sunborn's pivot reflects a broader trend among Chinese game studios investing heavily in Unreal Engine-powered action titles to compete globally. Studios like miHoYo (HoYoverse) and Kuro Games have already proven that Chinese-developed action games can capture Western audiences.

For Sunborn, the challenge is clear: translating a loyal tactical-RPG fanbase into a live-service shooter audience. The studio's established IP and lore give it a storytelling advantage, but execution in real-time combat will determine success.

Neither title has announced platform availability or release timelines. Fans can expect further updates as development progresses through 2025 and beyond.