The coast of Katmai National Park in southwest Alaska is a remote, wild, and beautiful place -- and it's the setting for a major WolfQuest game expansion!
Isolated from the interior of the park by the Alaskan Range, the coast is devoid of ungulates aside from some moose. What's a wolf to eat? Ever adaptable, wolves here have learned how to hunt sea otters and harbor seals. These marine mammals live in the ocean but regularly haul out to rest on beaches and rocky shorelines where their main predator -- orcas -- can't reach them. As predators in their own right, they are formidable foes, bearing sharp teeth and knowing how to use them. But they offer the best meals around. Except for late summer, when salmon return to spawn. These fish provide a rich buffet for brown bears and wolves alike.
How did we decide upon Katmai for this game expansion? I had been learning about wolves around the world for quite awhile, looking for an place where wild wolves face challenges both familiar and different from those in Yellowstone. It wasn't until I attended the 2022 International Wolf Symposium that I learned of recent discoveries of wolves hunting sea otters and harbor seals in coastal Alaska. In particular, a research presentation by doctoral student Ellen Dymit, who had spent a summer in Katmai studying wolves, sold me about the potential of this park. Ellen had played WolfQuest when she was young and was happy to help us brainstorm about how to bring WolfQuest to the Katmai environment, and agreed to be our science advisor for this expansion. For this is more than merely a DLC map, it's a full-blown game expansion.
The team has been working on it for awhile now, and though we have much left to do, it's really shaping up. Learn more in the devblog video!