Until Dawn studio looks to recover from layoffs, a 7-month delay, and 4 so-so Dark Pictures games in May with co-op game set to receive online multiplayer

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Directive 8020 is on its way, I hope

A screenshot of the upcoming PS5 game, Directive 8020.
(Image credit: Supermassive Games)

Until Dawn studio Supermassive has had, from a fan's perspective, an atrocious past few years. But its newest installment in the Dark Pictures Anthology finally has a release date after its October 2025 launch was stalled, and the perfectly nasty-looking horror multiplayer could be a sign of better days to come once it's out on May 12.

It's been hard for Supermassive. In 2024, its Dead by Daylight collaboration game The Casting of Frank Stone was underwhelming, and the studio saw reportedly 90 positions cut in an extensive initial round of layoffs. 2025 wasn't much better. In addition to delaying Directive 8020 – another characteristic, Supermassive interactive drama, wrapped in The Thing's slimy bandages – Supermassive struggled with more layoffs impacting 36 jobs and a middling Little Nightmares sequel, as we note in our three-out-of-five Little Nightmares 3 review.

Directive 8020 - Comply | Pre-Order Trailer - YouTube Directive 8020 - Comply | Pre-Order Trailer - YouTube
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But since I'm tired of both being bored and reading about layoffs, I'm praying the ambitious Directive 8020 will bring Supermassive – and its wilting Dark Pictures Anthology – back to the gruesome, cult success that Until Dawn first won it 10 years ago.

"Supermassive Games is proud to reveal that its sci-fi survival horror narrative adventure, Directive 8020, will launch on 12 May 2026," says a press release. It boasts "Directive 8020's paranoia-fuelled decision-making where trust is fragile and every choice can be deadly." The game's main tension involves determining which members of your spaceship crew are human and therefore trustworthy, while a new rewind "Turning Points" feature will help players realize that safety isn't always so obvious.

"Directive 8020 launches with single-player and up to 5-player couch co-op on May 12th, with online multiplayer arriving in a free post-launch update," the press release adds. "More details will be shared soon."

Until then, try the 10 best survival horror games to test your endurance skills.

Ashley Bardhan
Ashley Bardhan
Senior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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