Another Unannounced Surprise
My interview posts from Gamescom 2025 continue, and this time, I got some exclusive materials and first impressions about an upcoming game built around a rather unusual yet beloved character. I’m talking about SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide. And just like my previous post about Cosmo Tales, this one shares some common attributes! Both target a younger audience, and both appeared in my invitations under the mysterious label “mystery project.”
The announcement trailer dropped on August 1, 2025 — about 20 days before Gamescom — but the project remained something of a mystery to me until I stepped into THQ’s booth. There, two passionate developers from Purple Lamp welcomed me: Adam Khoury, Game Director (and, judging by his LinkedIn photo, a devoted cat lover), and Martin Kreuch, Senior Creative Producer at THQ Nordic and an unapologetic superfan of the very game he’s building. His enthusiasm was hard to miss — and you’ll see why this project turned out to be so meaningful for his own life and career, inspiring some unexpected creative contributions along the way.
Table of Contents
About Purple Lamp and the SpongeBob Legacy
This wasn’t my first encounter with Purple Lamp. Back at Gamescom 2022, I interviewed the team about SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake, just a few months before its release. Purple Lamp, under publisher THQ Nordic, has carved out a role as the studio breathing new life into SpongeBob games. Their relationship with Nickelodeon ensures authenticity, while their playful creativity keeps the franchise fresh.
SpongeBob’s cultural footprint is massive. Beyond the silliness, he’s a character who has entertained generations — a figure kids recognize instantly and adults remember fondly. That mix of humor, nostalgia, and family appeal is exactly what makes a new SpongeBob adventure worth watching closely.
So grab a tea, or perhaps an exotic non-alcoholic cocktail with a tiny umbrella in it, and let’s dive into a new story about SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends.
A Suit That Spoke Volumes
The moment I stepped into THQ Nordic’s meeting room, I knew what kind of project we were about to talk about — and it wasn’t from a poster or a slide deck. Martin Kreuch, sat across from me in an absolutely striking SpongeBob-themed “business” suit. My first question was whether this was some new official studio uniform. He laughed and said no — it was purely his own initiative, a tribute to the cartoon he’s loved since childhood.
That energy set the tone. It echoed the idea I carried throughout Gamescom: passionate people making things they truly love. Not many industries can claim that perk, and in games it often shows up in ways large and small. If you’ve ever dreamed of turning your hobby into your craft, maybe checking a studio’s job board isn’t the worst idea.
That passion wasn’t just confined to the press room. Out on the show floor, SpongeBob’s presence was impossible to miss. Paramount+ decked its booth with oversized banners and merchandise, while THQ Nordic went all in with an underwater kingdom-style play area where fans could try Titans of the Tide hands-on.
Duality – Two Characters at the Tap of a Button
Probably the biggest change that stood out in Titans of the Tide is how you play not just SpongeBob, but Patrick as well. One leads, the other follows in ghost-form, and with a single button press you can swap between them instantly. Each character brings unique perks to puzzles and combat — sometimes you need a specific skill, but often the game lets you solve challenges your own way.
The switching itself feels effortless. There’s no cooldown; you can literally swap characters midair. As Martin demonstrated, it opens up wild stunts — slide-glide combos, bouncing across platforms, and puzzle chains that look like they belong in a speedrunner’s highlight reel.
Tested by Kids, Tuned for Everyone
At one point, I asked the obvious question for someone like me — a player who holds the controller more like a crab claw than with dexterous fingers. How tough is Titans of the Tide really? Would the puzzles and platforming require pinpoint skill, or could anyone enjoy the ride?
The answer revealed a lot about Purple Lamp’s approach. The game was tested with a wide range of audiences, including children, to balance accessibility with challenge. Encounters were tuned again and again until they worked for every skill level.
Martin admitted he was surprised by the results. Kids, he said, often breezed past obstacles in ways adults didn’t expect. “Their brains work differently,” he told me, smiling. “Sometimes they solved things faster than us.” For him, that was a clear sign the team’s design choices were on the right track: puzzles that can be approached in multiple ways, engaging for both veterans and newcomers.
Patrick’s new abilities — grappling and burrowing — are a perfect example of that philosophy. They’re straightforward enough for kids to grasp instantly, but layered with possibilities that let older players experiment with creative solutions. That duality runs through the entire design: intuitive fun on the surface, depth if you want to dig for it.
The takeaway was simple — Titans of the Tide isn’t just a fan-service game for nostalgic adults, but something designed to genuinely work for players of all ages.
Worlds, Bosses, and a Greek Flavor
Without spoiling too much, the game spans both new and familiar locations. Expect places like Mount Bikini Bottom, alongside older settings now twisted by the villains’ influence. The confirmed bosses on Steam — The Flying Dutchman, King Neptune, and Hibernation Sandy — already promise a wild mix of encounters, with more surprises still under wraps.
What’s striking is the mythological flavor. Both Adam Khoury (Game Director) and Martin hinted at design notes drawn from Greek mythology, layered beneath the series’ usual goofiness. The result, they say, is a world where fans can “decode” references if they want, or simply enjoy the chaos if they don’t.
And yes, the original cast returns to voice characters and bosses for Titans of the Tide, keeping everything rooted in familiar tones. But it doesn’t stop there — the game is fully dubbed in French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Brazilian, Portuguese, and more, each with their own actors. That’s a huge team of performers and a clear sign of the dedication THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp are putting into making SpongeBob feel authentic for a global audience.
SpongeBob in Action – 27 Minute Demo
Straight from Gamescom 2025 — a full gameplay session showing SpongeBob and Patrick in Titans of the Tide action. Note: contains early-game spoilers.
The Joy of the Unnecessary
I asked them about their favorite completely unnecessary detail in the game. Adam grinned and pointed to a tiny flag planted in Patrick’s butt cheeks — a gag folded into the preorder skin that leaves both heroes running around with bare rounds on display. Martin, meanwhile, celebrated a silly Mario-style physics quirk. “If you jump on top of the characters, they jiggle with this dazed animation. It does nothing. It’s just flavor.”
That playful love for micro-details mirrors Purple Lamp’s wider approach — a willingness to spend time on things that don’t move the needle mechanically but make the world feel alive.
A Sea Shanty for the Ages
And then, of course, there’s the trailer. Fans instantly clocked it: a mashup of “Drunken Sailor” and “Wellerman”, delivered by none other than David Hasselhoff. On YouTube, comments poured in about how “the song slaps,” with one fan calling it “genius to pull the Hoff for a sea shanty.” Another joked that the trailer proved once and for all that mayonnaise is an instrument.
For Martin Kreuch, this was personal. “It was like ticking one of those boxes on a life checklist,” he told me. “Getting to collaborate with David Hasselhoff on a SpongeBob project… I mean, what more could I want?”
That line said everything — this wasn’t just another job. It was the culmination of a fan’s journey into professional game development, stitched together with the same joy that fuels the community watching from the outside.
Check out the trailer — and the lyrics* below if you want to sing along as you watch:
What shall we do with the Flying Dutchman?
What shall we do with the Flying Dutchman?
What shall we do with the Flying Dutchmaaaaaaaan?
…to save Bikini Bottom!
There once was a king who ruled the sea
And a ghostly pirate, mean and green
Their magic clashed, ghosts unleashed
Across Bikini Bottom!
Soon may King Neptune come
To rid the seas of pirate scum
Soon may the Dutchman come
To haunt Bikini Bottom!
Along came a hero, porous and square
To chase the Dutchman to his lair
King Neptune yelled…
“By my own beard, I rule Bikini Bottom!”
Soon may the BFFs come
To burrow, kick, and jump and run
Soon may SpongeBob come
To save Bikini Bottom!
Be wary of the Dutchman
Wary of the mighty King
Wary of their spell
Beware of king and ghost!
Be wary of the Dutchman
Wary of the mighty king
Wary of these old geezeeeeeeeers!
Beware… of king… and ghost.
* Lyrics transcribed by fans from the trailer; phrasing may differ slightly from the final soundtrack
Undersea Office of Fine Print
Even in Bikini Bottom, someone has to handle the paperwork. So here’s the dry but useful part! On the technical side, Titans of the Tide marks SpongeBob’s first outing in Unreal Engine 5, giving the undersea world sharper detail and a more cinematic scale than previous entries.
The game launches November 18, 2025, available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Pricing is set at $39.99 / €39.99 / £34.99 / AU$59.95 / ¥5720.
Here’s The official Steam page for the game. Across all platforms, players will be able to choose from several editions:
- Standard Edition – Base game.
- Digital Deluxe Edition – Base game + Tidal Season Pass.
- Ultimate Edition – Base game + Tidal Season Pass + Natural Costume Pack + Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated + The Cosmic Shake + costume DLC.
- Ghostly Edition (Collector’s Bundle) – Includes a steelbook case, lenticular prints, Flying Dutchman patch, golden spatula keychain, and the full Digital Deluxe package.
The Tidal Season Pass expands the game with two DLCs (Plankton’s Portal Challenge, Search for SquarePants) and two themed costume packs (Search for SquarePants Costume Pack, Double Deluxe Costume Pack).
So yes, behind all the jokes, jellyfish, and mayo-as-instrument gags, there’s also a very organized THQ Nordic spreadsheet making sure no fan is left without an edition to choose from.
My Closing Thoughts
For me, the biggest takeaway wasn’t just seeing SpongeBob’s world in Unreal Engine 5 or hearing David Hasselhoff belt out a sea shanty. It was realizing how much care Purple Lamp put into making Titans of the Tide approachable for everyone — from kids who can outsmart puzzles in ways adults never expect, to awkward players like me who still roleplay Mr. Krabs whenever I pick up a controller.
And maybe that’s the real challenge here: time to finally overcome myself, sharpen those platform-jumping skills, and stop blaming my claw-grip for every missed ledge. If SpongeBob and Patrick can take on Neptune and the Flying Dutchman, I can at least land a proper double jump.
Leave a Reply