Maneater
A bull shark seeks revenge in an open-world action RPG.
Maneater is an action role-playing game from 2020, created and published by Tripwire Interactive. Players take the role of a female bull shark that must grow stronger and navigate an open world to get revenge on a fisherman who scarred her as a pup and killed her mother. The game launched on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in May 2020, followed by releases on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 in November, Nintendo Switch in May 2021, and iOS and Android in December 2025. It sold over 14 million copies. Additional content, Truth Quest, came out in August 2021 and follows the shark after the main story as she investigates a mysterious experiment site and battles a radioactive monster causing trouble around Port Clovis. A sequel, Maneater 2, was announced in September 2026 and is scheduled for release in 2027.
The gameplay is an action role-playing experience from a third-person view. The player controls a baby bull shark seeking revenge on Scaly Pete, the hunter who killed her mother and disfigured her. The shark can charge into enemies, leap out of the water to whip foes with her tail, and use the environment for combat, such as impaling creatures with a swordfish. To gain nutrients like proteins, fats, minerals, and rare mutagenics, the shark must hunt and eat aquatic wildlife, including fish and turtles. Players can also attack humans by causing chaos along the coast, destroying boats, and knocking people off jet skis. When enough nutrients are collected, the shark enters underwater grottos to unlock abilities and grow larger, allowing her to take on bigger threats. Over time, she evolves into an adult "mega" shark, with upgrades like bone plates, shadow armor, and bioelectric spikes. The open world of Port Clovis has eight regions: Caviar Keys, Crawfish Bay, Dead Horse Lake, Fawtick Bayou, Golden Shores, Prosperity Sands, Sapphire Bay, and the Gulf. Players can find hidden landmarks and complete side objectives. Each region contains predators such as muskellunge, barracuda, alligators, sperm whales, orcas, and other sharks, plus a unique apex predator—like a great barracuda, shortfin mako, American alligator, great hammerhead, great white, orca, or albino sperm whale—that grants special skills when defeated. As the shark causes more havoc, human bounty hunters are sent after her. Killing the ten named lead hunters provides extra rewards.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Tripwire InteractiveiOS and Android port developed by HandyGames.
- Publisher
- Tripwire InteractiveRetail release published by Deep Silver. Android and iOS versions published by HandyGames.
- Released
- Windows, PS4, Xbox OneWW · May 22, 2020Xbox Series X/SWW · November 10, 2020PS5NA · November 12, 2020 · EU · November 19, 2020SwitchWW · May 25, 2021iOS, AndroidWW · December 15, 2025
- Director
- Bill Munk
- Producer
- Thomas Dahlberg
- Designer
- David Hensley · Joe Russo · Leland Scali
- Programmer
- Jon Carr
- Artist
- Sean McBride
- Writer
- Matt Entin
- Composer
- Daniel James
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Platforms
- Windows · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S · Nintendo Switch · iOS · Android
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game follows a baby bull shark whose mother was killed by shark hunter Pierre 'Scaly Pete' LeBlanc, who also disfigured the pup with his knife. The shark grows by consuming fish, turtles, humans, and apex predators, evolving into a 10-meter megashark. It explores eight regions of Port Clovis, including Fawtick Bayou and Sapphire Bay, and faces apex predators such as a great white shark and an orca. The story is narrated by Trip Westhaven, host of the in-game reality show Maneaters vs. Sharkhunters.
In the Truth Quest DLC, set after the main story, the shark travels to Plover Island (Site P), an experimental station, and confronts a radioactive mosasaur-like leviathan called M.O.L.O.C.H. The shark kills M.O.L.O.C.H. but the facility is destroyed in an explosion. The game's development was led by Alex Quick, who worked on the multiplayer game Depth, and was inspired by Jaws Unleashed, Deus Ex, Dishonored, Far Cry, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The combat system drew from Punch Out and Dark Souls.
Reader's Guide
Maneater is notable as a commercial success that sold 14 million copies by April 2024, making it one of the best-selling indie action RPGs of the early 2020s. Its open-world design, third-person combat, and evolution mechanics allowed players to grow a shark from pup to mega predator while exploring eight distinct regions. The game received mixed or average reviews, with critics citing repetitive gameplay but praising the B-movie stylization and premise. The Truth Quest DLC expanded the story with new regions, mutated predators, and a final boss. The announcement of Maneater 2 in 2026 indicates the franchise's continued relevance. The game's development by Blindside Interactive and Tripwire Interactive, building on the systems of Depth, shows a successful transition from multiplayer to single-player action RPG. Its release across multiple platforms, including mobile in 2025, extended its reach.
Did You Know?
- The game was initially envisioned as an expansion for the multiplayer game Depth.
- The shark can use a swordfish as a spear during combat.
- Scaly Pete loses his right hand to the infant shark during its release.
- The Truth Quest DLC features a mosasaur-like leviathan called M.O.L.O.C.H.
More in Role-Playing Games of the 2020s, Part 3 1-24
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