The training project eventually became a big hit.
The creator of the popular roguelike The Binding of Isaac, Edmund McMillen, recently spoke about the project's origin. As it turns out, one of the iconic games in the genre was originally conceived as a simple training project.
In a conversation with NoClip, he explained that The Binding of Isaac was created to gain experience for working on Mewgenics:
«Tommy [Refenes] and I were discussing creating a roguelike... especially after playing Spelunky.» The developer considered the genre "underutilized" and while Refenes was resting after completing Super Meat Boy, McMillen "wanted to prototype a simple roguelike to test his strength before the large-scale game we were going to make with Tommy."
Three months later, work on The Binding of Isaac was completed, and Mewgenics was canceled:
«I think this project was too risky for Tommy, and he didn't want to work on it. I remember finding out from someone else that the game was canceled, although I thought the project was just on hold.»
Several years ago, Edmund McMillen was able to obtain the rights to Mewgenics and development resumed — the release is scheduled for February 10, 2026.
