Unrecord is Back with Full Funding and Big Ambitions
In 2023 a small prototype called Unrecord exploded across PC gaming circles. The ultra realistic bodycam perspective of this first person shooter looked so convincing that many people thought it was fake footage. The attention was massive and the debate about how real it looked pushed the game into the spotlight.
After that viral moment the developers at Drama Studios mostly went quiet. They were just two bedroom coders trying to turn a rough prototype into a full game. Now they have reemerged with huge news for PC players who have been watching the project with curiosity.
Drama Studios has confirmed that Unrecord is now fully funded. Chinese gaming giant Tencent has taken a minority stake in the studio, giving the team the resources they need to stop hustling for survival and start focusing on building the actual game.
For a project that already had PC gamers arguing about graphics, realism, and ethics back in 2023 this funding round could be the turning point that decides whether Unrecord becomes a niche experiment or a full on must watch shooter.
From Two Bedroom Coders to a Growing Studio
When the first trailer hit in 2023, Unrecord was only about six months into development. According to Drama Studios, they were complete industry newcomers with almost no budget and a lot of late nights. The viral trailer massively raised expectations long before they had the structure or money to match them.
Fast forward two years and the situation looks very different. Drama Studios now has a team of around ten developers and is still hiring. Most importantly, they say they finally have the budget to actually make Unrecord the way they envisioned instead of constantly juggling business, pitching, and survival work.
In a post on X the team explained that this new phase is all about production, not constant pitching or dropping half finished teasers. They say they want to avoid showing rough or unfinished content just to stay visible, and instead focus on building toward a stronger final version of the game.
The plan is to go mostly heads down on development and then come back with real updates in 2026 that better reflect their final vision for Unrecord.
Tencent’s Investment and What It Means for the Game
Tencent, one of the biggest players in global gaming, has taken a minority stake in Drama Studios. While the exact numbers are not public, the studio describes this as the deal that makes Unrecord fully funded. For PC gamers this usually translates to fewer compromises on scope, better tools, more support staff, and a higher chance that the project actually ships in a solid state.
On Tencent’s side, Mark Maslowicz praised Drama Studios for the progress it has made on Unrecord with such a small and under resourced team. He called the investment a way to help the studio unlock its full potential and to support what they hope will be the first of many standout games.
Drama Studios CEO Theo Hiribarne says Tencent has approached the partnership with respect for their creative identity. According to him Tencent believed in Unrecord early and supported them through their growth, which helped build trust. The goal now is to use that support to make one of the most immersive games ever.
For players this mix of a small focused developer and a giant backer can go either way. On the positive side, we get a higher chance of polished performance, better PC support, and maybe more ambitious systems. On the negative side, some people will always worry about big corporate influence. For now at least Drama Studios is stressing that Tencent holds only a minority stake and that they still have control over their creative direction.
A Photoreal FPS That Will Keep Sparking Debate
Unrecord is not just interesting because of its graphics tech. The game’s core fantasy is playing as a police officer in a hyper realistic bodycam view. That concept pushed a lot of conversation the first time the trailer showed up, with people questioning how it feels to step into that role in such a raw style.
The developers are aiming to create one of the most immersive games ever and that goal is going to keep those debates alive. The closer a game gets to reality, the louder the questions become around what you are actually doing in that virtual world.
For PC players the appeal is easy to understand. Unrecord promises:
- An unusual bodycam viewpoint that changes how firefights look and feel
- Visuals that blur the line between in game footage and real world video
- A small but hungry team trying to prove it can punch far above its weight
- Backed funding that should help push the tech and design further
Drama Studios has shown a new screenshot that keeps the same gritty atmosphere but does not reveal much about gameplay yet. The real details are being kept for the next big reveal, which the team says will come in 2026 once they are confident it matches their final vision.
Until then Unrecord will probably sit on a lot of PC watchlists as one of those projects that could either change how we look at FPS immersion or end up as another viral prototype that never quite lands. With Tencent money behind it though, the odds of it actually reaching our gaming PCs just went up significantly.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/remember-that-bodycam-shooter-that-went-viral-in-2023-now-its-got-them-sweet-tencent-megabucks-to-reach-its-full-potential/
