Frictional Games has announced that its upcoming title, Ontos, has been delayed and is now slated for a 2027 release. The studio cited the game's ambitious scope as the reason for the postponement.
Ontos is described by Frictional as their "most ambitious game to date, both in terms of its size and scale, and in the depth and layers of our story and gameplay." To realize this vision, the team has opted to push the release back from its previously intended window this year to 2027. Further details about the game, its characters, and its world are expected to be shared in the future.
The game was first revealed last year and marks Frictional's first entirely new intellectual property since the 2015 release of the critically acclaimed horror title Soma. While Soma took players to the depths of the ocean, Ontos shifts the setting to the moon. The narrative centers on a protagonist venturing to the lunar surface to investigate the activities of an estranged father. The game's description suggests a journey that begins as a search for answers but evolves into a confrontation with unsettling truths about reality.
Gameplay in Ontos is described as an "immersive narrative with a tactile, systems-driven gameplay experience." Players will reportedly scavenge materials, manipulate intricate machinery, and engage with analog systems that require careful calibration and direct interaction. The game will feature a large moonbase to explore, contributing to its atmospheric presentation.
Ontos is available to wishlist on Steam ahead of its new 2027 release window.