Polish development outfit MasterCode and pulbisher Ultimate Games S.A., announced the first major fishing title for next-generation consoles and PC. Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2 is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2020 in Early Access on Steam for PC, while the full version is set to arrive on home consoles in 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, along with Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.

Mateusz Zawadzki, CEO of Ultimate Games S.A., commented how they’ve updated and upgraded nearly every aspect of the game, from the graphics to the gameplay based on user feedback, mentioning in the press release…

”The fishing game, which we published almost two years ago, was very warmly received by the players. In Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2 we are going to provide fun at an even higher level. We are preparing many improvements and various brand-new features. They are largely based on the feedback from the community that has formed around our game, for which we would like to thank you. Ultimately, our simulator will set a new standard for fishing games”

Some of the new additions include the third-person mode, so now other players will show up as player-models during online multiplayer sessions.

They also added the ability to fish at fisheries during different times of the year, and improved the overall graphics compared to the original game.

All the fish models and equipment have been overhauled with more detail and realism, and they’ve added new dynamic water and fish AI, the latter of which was quite the advancement back when Infinity Ward introduced the feature in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Gamers were blown away by that eighth-gen fish AI… really.

As far as gameplay is concerned, they’ve added a new underwater camera that follows fishes that are hooked on the line, giving the game a more dynamic feel when you finally nab a catch.

Rafal Jelonek, the COO of Ultimate Games S.A., went into a bit more detail about the fish AI, explaining how they have all new feeding patterns, resting patterns, and behavioral nodes, mentioning in the press release…

“[…] we are planning more improvements and the introduction of a living fish system, based, among others, on the time of day. This way the fish will move around the entire fishery, but it will depend on some values. For example, a fish will move from point X to Y at feeding time, and during rest time it will seek shelter and swim from point Y to Z. We are also planning, among other novelties, assigning individual species of fish to different parts of the fishery, to reflect reality as much as possible. Thanks to this, predators could live in areas with dense vegetation, and e.g. carp would stick to places near the sandy bottom or hideouts made of tree branches. Such a thorough, reality-based approach will also be visible in other parts of the game.”

That’s actually kind of neat.

The full game will feature both first-person and third-person views, fisheries that will be explorable throughout different seasons, several dozen types of fish, and returning and all new fishing techniques that include but aren’t limited to spinning, floating, fly fishing, ice fishing, and surfacsting.

The game will also feature licensed fishing equipment from real life fishing companies.

You can wishlist or follow Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2 right now by visiting the Steam store page. You can look for the game to launch first on PC in Early Access, which is supposed to last about six months, followed by the release on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X at some point in 2021.