During gamescom’s Opening Night Live, developer Archetype Entertainment revealed the release date for its Mass Effect-like spacefaring RPG: Exodus is launching on April 7, 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It premiered a new cinematic trailer that showcased new characters and gameplay centered around an intelligent octopus who pilots a mech suit.
Her name is Salt and she is one of several party members you’ll gather in Exodus. She is an Awakened, which in the universe of Exodus are hyper-intelligent animals and wildlife who can communicate with humans. Salt will be a long-range sniper who can use an ink smokescreen to provide cover in combat. The trailer hits heavier beats that tease some of its story elements – while Salt gives the main character Jun hard time and tends to be confrontational, she’s emotionally driven to protect her species and homeworld.
One of the major hooks of Exodus is the scientific incorporation of time dilation and how it’ll affect the story. In true RPG fashion, it’ll have player choices that can change outcomes and you’ll have a crew to accompany you (a Traveler known as Jun) along the interstallar journey where humanity had to flee Earth and find a new home in the great expanse.
Veteran narrative designer and writer Drew Karpyshyn is the narrative director on Exodus. If you’re not familiar, he worked on some of BioWare’s most critically acclaimed games serving as senior writer on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and lead writer on Mass Effect.
Exodus was first revealed during The Game Awards 2023 and made headlines for having famed actor Matthew McCounghey voicing the trailer and playing a character in the game. There was an extended 20-minute gameplay reveal back in June that showcased the action RPG combat, which is very reminescent of Mass Effect with its shooting mechanics and commanding of party member abilities – it also shares a particular sci-fi aesthetic with the BioWare series. Archtype Entertainment has been working under Wizards of the Coast since 2020 and it won’t be long until we can finally play what its been working on.
