House House's 'Big Walk' turns Wilson's Promontory into a multiplayer playground, sells 1 million copies

House House, the Melbourne studio behind Untitled Goose Game, spent six years crafting Big Walk, a cooperative experience set in a 1:20 scale replica of Wilson's Promontory in Victoria, Australia. Using lidar scans and on-location recordings, the developers hand-placed rocks, modeled 80-100 native plants, and captured the unique sound of Squeaky Beach to achieve a highly realistic environment. Gameplay revolves around proximity voice chat and improvised signals—such as hand gestures and flashlights—to navigate puzzle rooms scattered across the virtual wilderness, making communication the central mechanic.

Co-founders Jake Strasser and Stuart Gillespie-Cook drew on personal connections to the area, including a proposal at the park and regular visits to nearby Fish Creek. Launched in early August, Big Walk sold more than 1 million copies within a week, dwarfing the 400,000 annual visitors to the real park. The title arrives amid a post-COVID surge in social multiplayer games, yet its extended development allowed House House to pioneer a distinctive blend of exploration and collaborative problem-solving.