Morphcat Games announced earlier this week on Twitter/X that it is currently working with another company called Novasplore Games to develop a Super Mario Maker-style spin-off to its well-received NES platformer Micro Mages.
Morphcat Games originally released the multiplayer platforming adventure for the NES back in 2019, with the game notably being developed to fit inside 40KB, without the use of additional memory mappers.
Created by a small team of two, including coder Julius Riecke and artist and level designer Nicolas Bétoux, it went on to generate a lot of positive press around the time of release, and was later made available for a range of other platforms like Evercade, PS4, PS5, and PC (via Steam/itch.io).
However, judging from this recent announcement, it appears the game's journey is still far from over, with the developers now teasing that fans of the game will soon be able to create their own levels for the NES homebrew, through an upcoming PC-based successor called Micro Mages Maker.
Micro Mages Maker, according to the Steam page, is a new level editor-style game, that will let players create and edit their own stages, before sharing them with other players. As its developer states, it will even include the ability to generate NES ROMs, meaning you will have the option to build a level in-game and then export it to play on an NES emulator or real hardware using a flash cart.
In addition to the level editor, the game also bundles in Micro Mages, its Second Quest DLC, and 20 newly-created levels to play, all of which are playable in multiplayer.
Here's an official description for the project, taken from Steam:
"Become the evil mastermind behind new traps and challenges. Build and design your own deadly tower with your crew of goblins. Choose from a range of enemies, including new ones, such as the Tele Bubble Goats and Jumpy Goblins.
Build, share and play new levels! The maker also comes with 20 premade levels waiting to take you on new platforming adventures
Play solo or join forces with your friends. This game supports up to 4 players. Shoot and wall jump your way up the fortress' towers. Battle the evil bosses lurking in Micro Mages and Micro Mages: Second Quest. Will you help each other overcome the dangerous traps built to stop nosy adventurers or will you turn on your comrades to snatch the high score?
At the moment, no release date has been announced, unfortunately, but you can wishlist the game now on Steam, should you want to keep tabs on it ahead of its release.
We'll also keep an eye open for any announcements and will try to keep you updated once more information is available.