After three years in development, Supermassive is presenting its new horror spectacle at the Summer Game Fest.
Supermassive announced its new horror game at this year's Summer Game Fest. Based on various playtests and information from Supermassive Games, here's what we know about the upcoming game.
A deadly mission to save humanity, coming October 2nd 2025 #Directive8020 #TheDarkPictures pic.twitter.com/X7DkyLSZVl
— The Dark Pictures (@TheDarkPictures) February 12, 2025
Space Horror From Fear Specialists
Directive 8020 will be the next title in “The Dark Pictures Anthology,” the well-known horror game series from Supermassive Games. The game is expected to be available on October 2, 2025. The studio had its breakthrough in 2015 with Until Dawn: 96% of players recommend the game, and the title became an instant PlayStation classic. In the game, you take control of eight teenagers who must survive on Blackwood Mountain.
But Directive 8020, announced at Summer Game Fest, is set to be different: Supermassive takes us aboard a spaceship to rob us of our sleep with horror inspired by "The Thing". A lot of effort has gone into creating the grotesque creatures. SMG says they spent several years refining the design to make it truly perfect.
"The Thing" – And You're Facing It
You and your crew are trapped on a spaceship that has crashed on a planet 12 light years away from Earth. Not only do you have to face the hostile environment of the planet, but also your inconspicuous yet terrifying enemy: aliens who can perfectly imitate our bodies and language and blend seamlessly into our crew. Who is real, and who wants to destroy us? The game aims to deliver not only a captivating story, but also interesting gameplay. Inspired by Alien, Event Horizon and much more, the game definitely has more to offer than meets the eye.
A deadly mission to save humanity, coming October 2nd 2025 #Directive8020 #TheDarkPictures pic.twitter.com/X7DkyLSZVl
— The Dark Pictures (@TheDarkPictures) February 12, 2025
Game Session Instead Of Movie Night
The game will feature the kind of decisions that Supermassive Games is known for. Dan McDonald explains that the game will have eight episodes, each lasting about an hour. But of course, the game offers more than just eight hours of fun. The big twist is that even decisions we make at the beginning of the game could play a major role later on. After all, your survival depends on them. But you don't have to start all over again to have a different experience; sometimes it's enough to go back a moment and choose something else. SPG wants you to sit down with friends in the evening and experience space horror together instead of watching a movie. There is a multiplayer mode that lets you play the game with 4 other friends.
Directive 8020 introduces the new Turning Point feature Go back and change your choices for the first time in The Dark Pictures franchise: https://t.co/g3Da2O4KaS pic.twitter.com/J53y3SevyN
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 10, 2025
Inspiration From Everything
If you like connections to the real world, there was talk at the Summer Game Fest that the game was partly inspired by the first Apollo missions, specifically the Apollo 10 mission. This mission was designed to gather information to prepare the Apollo 11 crew for the moon landing. That's why Apollo 10 wasn't loaded with enough fuel to land. It's similar with the Cassiopeia spaceship you're on in the game – it was never planned for you to land on the alien planet. There was even a NASA directive, 8020.7G, which dealt with the control of biological contamination for outgoing and incoming planetary spacecraft. So, many games, films, and real-life events were used as inspiration to create a high-quality horror experience here.
Are you excited about the next title from the makers of Until Dawn, or are games like this just too scary for you?