General Information
- Developer: Supermassive Games
- Publisher: Supermassive Games
- Director: Will Doyle
- Composer: Jason Graves
- Series: The Dark Pictures Anthology
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5
- Platform:
- PlayStation 5
- Windows
- Xbox Series X/S
- Release: 2 October 2025
- Genre: Interactive drama, survival horror
- Mode: single-player, multiplayer
"Directive 8020" is an interactive drama and survival horror video game to be released by its creator, Supermassive Games. It will be released on October 2, 2025, as the first game of the second season of the The Dark Pictures Anthology series.
Story & Design
The game features Lashana Lynch as Brianka Young, an astronaut and pilot of a colony ship, Cassiopeia, that crash lands on the planet Tau Ceti f, 12 light-years from Earth, after embarking on a quest to discover a new home to save humanity because Earth is dying. Doyle called Directive 8020 "The Thing in Deep Space.". Doyle mentioned that the game draws inspiration from other science fiction horror movies such as Solaris (1972), Alien (1979), Event Horizon (1997), Pandorum (2009), Prometheus (2012), Life (2017), and Sputnik (2020). Another inspiration is H. P. Lovecraft's cosmic horrors. There was once a NASA directive 8020.7G on biological contamination control of outbound and inbound planetary spacecraft. The directive, however, lapsed in June 2022.
Gameplay Features
"Directive 8020" combines cinematic storytelling with intense survival horror elements. Key gameplay aspects include:
- Real-Time Alien Threats: Players must evade a deadly alien entity that roams the ship's dark corridors, intent on eradicating human life.
- Meaningful Choices and Branching Storyline: Decisions made by players significantly impact the narrative, influencing character relationships and determining who survives.
- Enhanced Player Control: Departing from previous titles, the game offers more dynamic character movement, allowing players to sprint, strafe, and perform defensive maneuvers. However, the emphasis remains on survival over combat, with improvised tools and stealth being crucial for evading threats.
- Multiplayer Mode: The game supports cooperative play for up to five players, with each participant controlling a different character.
Development
Directive 8020 is the fifth of eight titles scheduled in The Dark Pictures Anthology. It will be the lead title of the second season of the anthology. In mid-October 2022, the game was in production with a great amount of data already shot.
Music
The score will be composed by Supermassive Games' frequent collaborator Jason Graves, who has already composed music for the previous titles in The Dark Pictures Anthology.
Release
Directive 8020 was first revealed as a post-credits teaser trailer at the conclusion of The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, which was released on 18 November 2022. The trailer leaked onto the internet a day before The Devil in Me's release, showing a sci-fi setting. The teaser video for the game was released on 31 December 2023 to celebrate New Year's Eve. Directive 8020 was officially revealed at Gamescom in August 2024. Directive 8020 will be released on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 2 October 2025.
