The original Citizen Sleeper came out at the perfect time for me. The 2022 role-playing video game was released just as my role as the "forever GM" among my friend group was solidifying, leaving me eager for tabletop-inspired gaming experiences where I could be a player. Utilizing an action economy based around rolling dice to deliver an agency-rich roleplaying experience, Citizen Sleeper scratched that itch I was looking for. A year later, developer Jump Over The Age has announced that Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is already in development. As you can probably surmise, I'm ecstatic.

Like its predecessor, Citizen Sleeper 2 sees you play as a robotic individual known as a Sleeper. The game begins with you partially rewriting your programming, stopping your need to depend on the stabilizing agent that Sleepers need to regularly inject themselves with in order to survive. However, the process is interrupted, causing you to experience memory loss and suffer multiple malfunctions in your body. As your health continues to decline, you team up with a friend you no longer have any memory of and take off on a ship, jumping from location to location in order to stay one step ahead of the gang leader hunting you down.

Jump Over the Age is a one-person game development studio founded by Gareth Damian Martin--I sat down with them to talk about creating Citizen Sleeper 2 so soon after the release of the first game, and how this sequel will expand upon the already solid tabletop-inspired gameplay loop. Following the interview, I asked Martin about Steam Deck support and they said they're "definitely" making the game with Steam Deck in mind and that "later on, we'll definitely be announcing more platforms." For now, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is only confirmed for PC.