The Mooseletter | February 2025
Hey, Super Animals!
Since our last progress update, you’ve been hunting for red envelopes in the Year of the Super Snake event, teaming up for Duos Day, and unlocking new Super Snake breeds. We hope you had a blast—because while you were racking up wins, we were wrapping up a major milestone for Super Animal World!
We’ve officially completed our first “vertical slice” build of the expansion, and today we’re diving into what that means, what’s next, and how NPCs are bringing the world to life. Let’s get into it!
[h2]A Major Milestone Reached: Vertical Slice[/h2]
A vertical slice is like cutting out a piece of cake before it’s finished baking. It’s a playable cross-section of the game where we can test core mechanics, interact with NPCs, and see how everything fits together. The ingredients might still be raw, but it gives us a taste of all the layers before we commit to the full recipe—and so far, it’s delicious (if a little gooey).
Seeing Super Animal World come alive with NPCs, quests, and minigames was a huge moment for the team. It helped us fine-tune what’s working, spot areas that need improvement, and most importantly: confirm that it’s really fun. And so far, no one has gotten food poisoning. (Okay, okay—we promise that’s the last food metaphor).
There’s still plenty to build—more polish, balancing and content—but this milestone has brought the finish line into view. Over the next few months, we’ll keep iterating weekly, expanding the build, and writing and implementing more NPC content.
[h2]Bringing the World to Life with NPC Characters[/h2]
Super Animal World introduces dozens of NPCs to expand the game’s in-world storytelling—but we’re not starting from scratch. Since development began in 2017, we’ve been writing and expanding a lore bible that ties everything together: from environmental storytelling across the island to our Super Animal Royale Tonight YouTube series (which, yes, will return after the SAW project is complete!).
The idea for Super Animal World started taking shape in 2019, inspired by how players naturally interacted in SAR’s pre-match lobbies. Seeing how social and lively those moments were, we began imagining what a larger social space could look like—a world where players could hang out, explore, and engage beyond just the battle royale.
As we explored ways to bring that idea to life, we knew it needed more than just a social space— it needed characters to interact with and stories to uncover to make the world feel truly alive. (Plus, let’s be real—we just really wanted more ways beyond SAR Tonight to tell all the stories in our heads.)
Our first experiment came in April 2020 with The Trials of Skullcat update, where we introduced NPC-driven storytelling for the first time.
Anyone who was around for that update will remember the chaos—dozens of players hot-dropping into the pyramid and fighting for their lives to be the first animal to reach Dr. Jennifer Dogna’s secret Lab Lab. Meanwhile, the rest would crowd into the Super Sphinx to talk to the First Skullcat, only to get blown up by a well-placed grenade.
We learned a ton from this first drop of in-world story content. Many of you loved the characters and uncovering the secrets, but it was, perhaps, a bit too hectic to try to read dialogue in the middle of a battle royale.
In Super Animal World, we’ve built an entirely new Social Hub to explore story content at your own pace alongside your friends. We’ve also developed tools to make writing and implementing dialogue faster and smoother. Ruben can now trigger NPC emotions alongside dialogue, with beautiful animations by Erika and voice barks from the talented actors you’ve heard in our video series, including Ruben (John Murre), Catbaux (The First Super Skullcat), Keli (Dr. Jennifer Dogna), Melissa Ortiz (Rabbita Smith), Stephanie Prentice (Ms. Macawsome), and Christian Haines (Buck the Beaver).
Our NPC content map (teased in our last video) continues to grow, and we’ve been having a lot of fun finally playtesting portions of it. To manage expectations (and ensure that the game ships before 2032), we should make clear that there’s only so much storytelling we can include in this first release. This is still a multiplayer-first game, but these new systems will establish an exciting foundation to build upon for years to come. The early storytelling will drastically improve our tutorial and new player experience, while also giving existing players a chance to engage with the lore of and characters we’ve been building for years like never before.
You’ll meet characters you already know from SAR Tonight, plus new faces like John Murre and Cap’n Seadog teased last year. Characters will also have quests for you to complete, now minus the fear of getting murdered while you work on them. The new quest system will complement our existing Challenges and Milestones systems to expand upon the ways we reward players, the types of stories we can tell, and the way they all link together.
The overarching goal of this expansion is to build a new world that feels alive—a world that you and your friends will enjoy living in between rounds of fighting to the death.
We’ll have more to share on the Social Hub in the future, but we want to save some surprises until we can show you rather than just tell you. In the meantime, we’ll keep doing these progress updates monthly, and we’d love to hear from you and answer as many of your questions as we can!
[h2]Ask us (almost) Anything![/h2]
Last week we put out a call for questions on Pixile’s Twitter and Bluesky and we received a ton of great ones! We’ve selected a handful to answer here, but if you have more be sure to follow us—you’ll get another chance to submit yours next month.
We can’t answer everything just yet (some surprises are worth the wait 👀), but we’ll keep answering as many as we can in each post. And as always, if you have feedback, join us in the SAR Discord or start a discussion here on Steam!
[h3]Question: Story in Super Animal World Expansion[/h3]
From: Chris Kit Blondie
Will there be storyline or lore in this mode?
Answer: Yes, this is one of the main things we're adding in the expansion! It’s hard to have deep conversations with NPCs when you’re being shot at, so the new Social Hub is designed, in part, as a place to bring the story and lore of Super Animal World to life.
[h3]Question: Map Updates[/h3]
From: Niko
Will there be any updates/improvements on the map to make it more livelier for the SAW gameplay?
Answer: Yep, we have some pretty cool new areas being added to the map in the expansion, and more planned down the line, too.
[h3]Question: Map Size[/h3]
From: Elias
Will you be able to explore the entire SAR map or will it just be small bits?
Answer: Super Animal World can be explored in its entirety in the Social Hub!
[h3]Question: SAW Story & Carl Coins[/h3]
From: Wheezy
Does the story within the island follow anything in SAR:Tonight, or is the story completely separated? Also will there be ways to spend Carl Coins in SAW?
Answer: All the foundational world building we’ve done through SAR Tonight and other videos will be reflected and expanded upon here. In addition, we’re experimenting with ways to further integrate SAR Tonight episodes with what’s happening in-world when the show returns (after SAW’s release).
There will also be more ways to spend Carl Coins inside the game! We’re still working on designing the new ways to spend them, so if anyone has any feedback or suggestions, we’re all ears. Let us know in Discord and the Steam comments! :)
[h3]Question: Inspiration for SAW[/h3]
From: Winky Salsa
What was that main inspiration behind SAW? Socializing? Lore? Expanding the game to more than a BR?
Answer: This is a tough one to answer since the answer is really “all of the above”. One thing we realized very early that makes Super Animal Royale stand out from other multiplayer games is how friendly and social the community is before matches. We’re so lucky to have the community we do, so for a long time, we’ve wanted to create more space for these kinds of interactions—something that just isn’t possible in a quick pre-match lobby.
Like everyone else, we’ve come to love the characters and world developed in SAR Tonight, and this expansion gives us more opportunities to explore it in a new way. With Super Animal World, we’re able to set the foundation for even more storytelling for years to come.
[h3]Question: BR QoL Updates[/h3]
From: UnflappedFlea
Will the BR accepts of the game get any updates/QoL improvements?
Answer: Yes! We’re always thinking about ways to improve our game modes (and new ones we could add later). Super Animal World’s launch will be primarily focused on the new Social Hub and everything in it, but also includes game and QoL improvements, and we also have lots of ideas built up that we want to get to after Super Animal World. So keep all your feedback coming for what you want to see next!
[h3]Question: Online or Offline[/h3]
From: kirbylight2
Is this an online or offline mode
Answer: Super Animal World will be an online experience! It’s designed to be experienced with friends and strangers (aka new friends!). Offline could certainly be interesting, but unfortunately with the way the game is developed it’d be a massive technical undertaking so it might not be feasible.
[h3]Question: LTM Updates[/h3]
From: Casey Hartley
Will the LTMs get updates at some point aswell? Specifically things unique for that gamemode instead of reused BR stuff? Like items tailor made for a class in SvR or Special infected similar to Left 4 Dead for Bwocking Dead?
Answer: Limited-time modes will definitely get updates! Super Animal World won’t focus on major changes to LTMs. but The Bwoking Dead is high on our list for a future update as it hasn’t received quite as many rounds of polish as BR and SvR. We have a lot of ideas for how to improve it when the time is right.
Mode-specific items and mechanics are something we consider carefully. Since we’re a small indie team, we have to be mindful of where we focus our time, ensuring that any additions meaningfully enhance long-term fun without pulling too much time away from everything else we’re building. That said, we’ve definitely leaned into unique mode-specific features before—the Giant Star-nosed Mole and class selection in SvR are great examples.
We’re a bit cautious when it comes to weapons and utilities exclusive to a single mode, since we love that players can learn mechanics in one mode and carry that knowledge into others. But we’re always open to fresh ideas—so if there’s something you’d love to see, let us know!
[h3]Question: Gaining XP in Super Animal World[/h3]
From: Jacklebean
Will there be ways to gain XP in Super Animal World, so we are still able to gain levels and tiers in Season Passes? Or will that just remain a thing only for Battle Royale modes.
Answer: Yes, XP can be earned in Super Animal World! We’re aiming for it to provide a similar amount of experience as other game modes so players can play the game the way they want to. We’re actually working on balancing it as we speak!
[h3]Question: SAW Development History[/h3]
From: CrayvenCarnage
How did the process go from suggesting SAW to the actual start of the development? And when did those things happen?
Answer: We first conceived of Super Animal World back in 2019, but we had so many other things to build for the game first, and it was such a big idea that we weren’t ready to dive into it right away. It took quite a few years of pre-production, game design and planning before we finally felt ready to fully dig into development on it. Focused development began in earnest after the Sea Legs update.
[h3]Question: Story, NPCs and Donk and Howl[/h3]
From: Angela! (:3 っ)з
I have only two priorities: Lore, and Donk and Howl
So my only questions would be:
In the story mode with the npcs quests there will be multiple routes according to what was seen, but are these permanent or can you take any one at a time while doing another?+
Does that influence your relationship with other characters?
Donk and Howl will appear? They aren't seen in the development video and I was on the floor
Answer: Sounds like three priorities to us, but we’ll let it slide ;). You’ll be able to take on multiple NPC quests at a time, but some will require completing other quests to unlock them. We’re not currently building a relationship system for NPCs, but it’s definitely something that has been on our mind and we’re open to it! We’ll be curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on where they want to see things evolve next once the first version of Super Animal World is in all your paws.
We don’t want to spoil too much about story content for now, especially since it’s all still in development and things could still change, but we have some plans for Donk and Howl that will come later when Super Animal Royale Tonight returns (so not at Super Animal World’s launch). That being said, we’re not leaving SAW Studios empty for the initial release.
Tune back in next month for more Q&A!
Community Roundup
The SAR community never fails to surprise us with its creativity, talent, and just the right amount of chaos. In each edition of the Mooseletter, we’ll be sharing development updates and answering your burning questions, but we also want to shine a spotlight on your amazing art and projects.
[h2]The Official SAR Wiki has Moved![/h2]
Our community-run wiki has a new home! Super Animal Royale's wiki is now hosted at wiki.animalroyale.com.
The incredible wiki team remains fully independent, but when they decided to migrate, they asked for our support—so we’re proud to now host them on the official SAR domain! If you’re curious about why they moved, you can read their explanation here. Or, if you prefer the short and sweet version, check out their graphic above!
The wiki is an invaluable resource that thrives thanks to community contributors. Whether you’re a seasoned player or just starting out, a well-maintained wiki helps everyone. If you’d like to contribute, join our Discord, hop into the #wiki channel, ask how you can help, and start making some edits!
[h2]Year of the Super Snake Highlights[/h2]
The Year of the Super Snake event officially wrapped up recently! With the release of the Super Ultraviolet Snake, the Super Snake lineup has grown to ten total breeds—and there’s always room for more. If you have ideas for new Super Animals or additional breeds, let us know here or in our Discord server!
A huge thank you to the community for making this event so incredible! We loved seeing all your loadouts, fanart, and screenshots throughout the event, and we’ve highlighted some of our favorites below.
Art by Kasichi
Art by Ying
Art by NK3
Art by TorauOur Chinese community also came together to create a MASSIVE group photo to commemorate the Year of the Super Snake! Through clever editing and coordinated in-game photo shoots, they managed to fit over 64 Super Animals into a single shot!
Organized and edited by maomao, HuanFun, Ayxzxn, RoweAnn, Mathias_Blade, Littlefish, and 地表零度We hope you enjoyed this inaugural edition of the Mooseletter! We’ll be back with another one in March, so drop your burning questions in the comments below and follow us on our socials to catch the next call for questions.
In the meantime, don’t forget to check out our remaining Duos Day festivities and grab your free cosmetics before the end of the month. :)
Keep up with us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter for more Super Animal World news!
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, and Threads!
In the meantime, we'll see you all on the island.
Art by Cheglock
Art by FluffubSheepub
Art by Sunnyaan
Art by Zyu
Art by Satori
Art by Noko
