Fittingly, Disney’s Tron franchise has a long video game history spanning several decades. That continues with the release of Bithell Games’ Tron: Catalyst, which is a new action game with a story that fleshes out the Arq Grid’s many programs. ComingSoon spoke with Bithell Games creative director Mike Bithell about the latest Tron video game, how respect is key when working on a beloved franchise, and more. It is out now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
“Play as Exo, a highly resilient and resourceful program wielding an unexpected power known as the Glitch, gaining strength and abilities which the overlords of the Arq Grid’s crumbling society seek to bring under control. Ride Light Cycles, engage in Identity Disc combat, and more as you’re relentlessly pursued through the city and beyond by Conn, a malevolent program with an agenda of his own, while uncovering more about the glitches that threaten the stability of this world,” says the game’s description.
Bithell Games previously did Tron: Identity, which is a visual novel puzzle game. How helpful was it already having that experience in the Tron world for this even more ambitious title?
Mike Bithell: We treated Tron: Identity like school, an opportunity to learn the story, art, and characters of the world, but also the process by which we’d be working with our friends at Disney and Pixar Games. Visual novels are a genre we’re right at home with, so using that as a path it made sense. It also gave us an opportunity to put some of our ideas in front of the fans and check in on what they connected with. Fortunately for us, they’ve been very kind.
They’re obviously very different gameplay-wise, but were there any lessons from Identity that the team took into Catalyst?
We definitely learned the value of story and world building, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much the audience resonated with our characters. Beyond the hyper-cool aesthetics, we saw that the audience really wanted to know who lived in the Arq Grid and we’ve tried to open up that world with Tron: Cataylst.
When you’re working with such an iconic property such as Tron, how was it working with Disney on how far you could take things and make lore your own?
I think the trick to working with existing lore is respect. Respect for the many creatives who’ve gone before you, respect for the current shepherds of the franchise, and respect for the storytellers who’ll pick up the toys when you leave. You tell your own stories, for sure, but they’re always rooted in the truths of that world. Disney and Pixar Games were awesome to work with, always pushing for an idea to take its best form, and I’m really proud of what we’ve built together.
Few sci-fi objects are as iconic as the Identity Discs, and Discs of Tron was a classic arcade game, so there’s a great legacy in gaming. How was it finding your own feel for the combat but staying authentic to what we know?
Tron’s got a lot of verbs, as you say. But it goes beyond that, it’s a game about games themselves. We spent a lot of time studying the franchise, but ultimately it comes down to what feels good. What would Flynn do? We had a mantra on the team: “This is a world created by a game designer, always lean into that sense of play.” I also wanted to pay homage to the Tron games I grew up with, and the wild swings some of them took.
I feel like you can tell if an action game is going to be good if it’s got a parry that feels right. You nailed it with Tron: Catalyst. Did that go through much iteration?
That’s kind! I give credit to my amazing team for honing parrying, both through their own instincts, and a lot of playtest feedback. I think any parry system will have its lovers and haters, but I think what we’ve made for this game serves the combat and acts as a great tool on your belt.
There’s good timing with the new Tron movie coming out later this year. Was that a happy accident, or was it meant to be this sort of rolling hype cycle for Tron to be fully back in pop culture in 2025?
Oh, on the Grid, nothing happens by accident. When we launched Tron: Identity, Tron Light Cycle / Run was just opening at Walt Disney World, and we were able to take part in festivities around the opening. With Tron: Ares out later this year, I’m hoping Tron: Catalyst is complementary to the movie. I’m personally really excited about what the folks working on Ares are doing.
Thanks to Mike Bithell for taking the time to chat about Tron: Catalyst.
