Allegedly in the works since 2020 and codenamed “Marathon” at one point, the project is now seemingly in development at Eidos Montreal (which recently saw several layoffs). It’s reportedly described as “Shadow of the Tomb Raider with Xenomorphs,” with three core characters – Aubrey, an engineer who uses grappling hooks and magnetic boots; Ryuzo, a potential antagonist; and Ripley 8 (with some hope that Sigourney Weaver reprises the character).

Its budget is reportedly less than $75 million, up from $30 million, with a release targeting 2028 on “all major platforms.” It could very well slip past that since it’s still in “early development,” though sources told Straw that “the state of the game is in a good place at this point.”

The alleged plot involves exploring a “decaying space station” where players deal with Spec Ops soldiers and the aforementioned Xenomorphs. It’s a single-player survival horror with puzzles, managing resources, sneaking around, and carefully dispatching enemies (who will apparently “adapt and react to whatever tactics you use.”

While he did express interest in the idea, he also noted that he would want to come up with his own take on the Alien franchise, complete with his own ideas of what a Xenomorph would be. He has even gone as far as messing around with generative AI tool Midjourney to try and create different kinds of Xenomorphs. Ultimately, however, he would be happier with working on one of his own projects rather than a licensed IP.

“Let’s say I took on a licence,” he said. “Which I really don’t want to do; I want to make my own. Let’s say somebody came to me and said, ‘We’re going to give you the Alien licence.’ Immediately I could show you, I don’t know, maybe 100 different aliens I’ve made in Midjourney over the last two years, just because I like it. So yeah, I would love to make an Alien game.”

When it comes ideas about potential discussions with Alien IP owner 20th Century Fox – itself owned by Disney – Schofield noted that he would want complete creative control over the project, referring to it as “not even negotiable.”

“I have to own the creative,” he said. “That’s not even negotiable. Because I won’t make a great game unless it’s mine and I’m so ingrained in it—then I will give you 130%.”

Earlier this year, Schofield had spoken about facing difficulties with getting new projects off the ground since his departure from Striking Distance Studios. Among the things he was working on at the time, he also wrote about a project alongside his daughter.

“Over the past eight months, I’ve been quietly working with my daughter, Nicole, on a new game idea,” wrote Schofield. “She came to me with it, and I immediately loved the idea. Something I hadn’t seen before. We’ve been calling it a new sub-genre of horror—not just horror, but something more.”

Difficulties with getting the project going largely came down to budgetary concerns, however. While he had decided on a budget of $17 million for the project at the time, investors weren’t biting, with some asking him to “get it to $10 million”, and then later going even lower, down to $2 to $5 million.

“So last month, we decided to walk away. Some ideas are better left untouched than done cheap,” he continued. “We had a team of six here in the States and a full crew in the UK. Now, everyone’s looking for work. They’re all talented folks—if you’re hiring, let me know.”

In his post, Schofield noted that, with the current state of the gaming industry and the difficulties with getting funding, he might be done with his career as a game director.

“I’m still around, making art, writing stories and ideas and still cheering the industry on,” he wrote. “But maybe I’ve directed my last game. Who knows? If so thank you playing my games.”

From VR to Flatscreens

Alien: Rogue Incursion made splashes in the VR space for its atmospheric first-person gameplay back in December 2024. Now in 2025, Survios is translating that tense VR experience onto more traditional screens. Rogue Incursion marks one of the rare occurrences where a VR exclusive gets the standardized treatment for PC and consoles.

Evolved Edition Enhancements

Of course, this non-VR release of the game has some specific enhancements and quirks that familiar and new players may be surprised and delighted to learn about … or not. The list of new additions and enhancements is pretty slim. Evolved Edition will hit a consistent 60 FPS for PC and PS5, providing flatscreen compatible framerates that the VR space couldn’t allow. Controller functionality is another big difference. Besides the obvious translation from motion inputs to buttons and sticks, the game supports full haptic feedback and rumble tech, which should substitute at least a bit of tactile immersion of virtual reality. It may not be much in the way of extras and non-VR bells and whistles, but these enhancements are still preferred to the bare minimum of a straight up port.

Graphics

VR games still carry a stigma when it comes to graphics—especially when translating those visuals from a headset to a flat screen. Dimensional depth tends to get lost in transition. So, how does Alien: Rogue Incursion tackle this common VR issue? Well, we’re not entirely sure, but the advanced tools within Unreal Engine 5 certainly help the transition some. Just look at the Evolved Edition trailers: objects and enemies don’t look out of proportion like other VR conversions. It won’t be the most visually impressive game this year, but it isn’t severely lacking in that department either.

Setting and Characters

Originally appearing in the Alien: Defiance comic, colonial marine Zula Hendricks sets out to investigate a distress signal on a remote planet, which sets up the premise of Rogue Incursion. The game is situated closer to the events of Aliens, taking place after Alien: Isolation.

Variety of Xenomorphs

You know how Alien Isolation was a respectful nod to Alien? Well, Rogue Incursion is something of an ode to its follow-up, Aliens. This is demonstrated by the variety of Xenomorphs that stalk the overrun settlement – a contrast to Alien: Isolation’s single xenomorph type. Players will encounter the typical warrior xenomorphs in addition to the smaller facehuggers and terrifying pratoreans. This enemy variety resulted in more strategic fights in the original VR game, which are said to be enhanced further with Evolved Edition.

Atmospheric Survival Tone Inspired by Alien: Isolation

But Rogue Incursion’s biggest draw by far is that it feels like a close cousin of Alien: Isolation. The tense slow-paced atmosphere is here, along with careful ammo conservation and stealth. Though, it should be noted that Rogue Incursion ramps things up a notch with a higher degree of action. Xenomorphs get gunned down without too much of a sweat compared to Isolation, leading to a feeling of control rather than fragility. But one thing is clear, the devs certainly took Alien: Isolation as a strong inspiration behind the game and its planned sequel. If you want an Alien: Isolation successor, this is the closest we’ve gotten.

Zula and Her Android Companion

If Isolation’s silence and solitude were too much, Rogue Incursion offsets it with an android companion named Davis. While the banter and communication isn’t constant, Davis provides periodic dialogue that makes the story more character-driven. Still, this isn’t the kind of quippy banter you might come to expect out of recent media. Rogue Incursion keeps things grounded and gritty.

Sound Management and Stealth

Contributing to that grounded feeling is the role sound takes in stealth. Like other survival horror titles, running around with boots stomping all over the place will draw out enemies faster. Cleverly placed objects cling and clang when stepped on or pushed, further alerting the xenomorphs to your location. Engaging in stealth requires the use of a xenomorph motion tracker and well-timed sneak attacks.

Weapons and Tools

But as mentioned before, this isn’t as strictly stealth-based as Alien: Isolation, thanks largely to the more generous weapon selection and ammo. Zula has a pulse rifle (which still doesn’t behave like it does in the films), a revolver, and a trusty shotgun for those close encounter kills.

Straightforward Combat

It doesn’t take many rounds to drop Xenomorphs—warriors, for instance, go down in two or three shotgun blasts. While the atmosphere still shines, this has less survival horror focus than Isolation. Zula’s defensive options are pretty limited though, with just a dodge and grenade throw at her disposal to distance enemies away a bit.

Deadly Xenomorph AI Behavior

The studio hyped up the unpredictable AI scripting of enemy xenomorphs quite a fair bit leading up to the VR game’s initial launch. However, when reality hit, it became clear that these were enemies like any other shooter. Yes, they route to different paths and don’t directly B-line it to the player all the time, but the ease with which they get gunned down prevents their routing from being meaningful. Thankfully, this has been addressed in vague terms for the non-VR release. Promotional material promises “deadlier Xenomorphs” this time around, showing some footage of Xenomorphs performing some aggressive leaping attacks.

Save System

If Xenomorphs are indeed tougher this time around, saving will be paramount. Saving is accomplished by reaching one of many panic rooms within the desolate facility. The game rarely autosaves, making the player rely on reaching panic rooms, which heightens the stakes that much more.

Brief Runtime

But you shouldn’t have to wait for too long before saving the game, as panic rooms are numerous and well-placed within the game. A game, which by the way, isn’t all that lengthy to begin with. Alien: Rogue Incursion takes roughly 7 hours on a casual playthrough, and with little to no additional content, that time stands with Evolved Edition.

Part 1 of 2

For those looking for more tense Alien gameplay after rolling the credits, not to worry. Rogue Incursion is only part 1 of a 2-part overarching narrative that the Survios studio has planned.

September 30^th Release Date

Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition releases on September 30^th with a $29.99 price tag for the standard edition. The non-VR gamers finally get to experience another Alien: Isolation type experience with this game, but you’ll need an adequate PC or a PS5 to do so. There’s currently no word on an Xbox release, but let’s hope that’s in the works as well.

“The first Ridley Scott film was so frightening,” said Kojima. “There were facehuggers and monsters bursting from people’s chests, and at first nobody knew what it was all about.”

In comparison, Cameron had to work on a movie where the audience was already quite familiar with some of the scarier aspects of the original Alien. According to Kojima, Cameron was able to bring in a new layer of mystery and unfamiliarity by making the sequel an action movie.

“When James Cameron came to make the sequel, Aliens, he made a very smart decision to make the film not about horror, but about action,” he explained. “It gave the story a new dimension, which was unfamiliar.”

Kojima explained that this is the approach he wanted to take with the sequel to Death Stranding. Whereas the original had quite a bit of mystique to it, especially considering how strange and alien some of aspects of the game’s world feel, like DOOMs and BTs, since players will be more familiar with these things in the sequel, the game can feature more action.

“That is what I wanted to do with this sequel,” he said. “Everyone understands Death Stranding’s world, so now we’ve introduced battles to give it this new dimension.”

Previously, Kojima has also compared Death Stranding 2: On the Beach to Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, saying in an interview that “I felt that myself when I played the game.”

He has also revealed that internal audience reception to Death Stranding 2 has been quite positive. In an interview, he revealed that audience test reviews for the upcoming sequel have been even more positive than they were for the original Death Stranding. Kojima also spoke about how he takes different types of feedback into account. While gameplay elements might see some changes depending on feedback, he will never make changes to the game’s themes and stories.

“I do listen to criticism, if the controls need tweaking or if a camera pan is too slow or too fast. But I don’t alter themes or story based on feedback,” Kojima said. “Of course, I want people to play my game, so I must listen to them to a certain extent. But also, I’m not interested in making something that appeals to everyone.”

When it comes to making games with mass appeal, Kojima just doesn’t seem to be a fan of the idea. Rather, he said that he was more interested in making a game where 4 out of 10 players liked it, while the others hated it.

“In fact, I did a lot of monitoring tests for the original Death Stranding. I’d find that four out of ten people would love the game, but six would say it was a terrible game. For me, I think that’s a good balance. But with the playtests for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, everyone seems to be positive.”

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is coming to PS5 on June 26.

The Japanese developer recently went live with a website that seems to be focused on celebrations of its 25th anniversary. Currently, the website consists only of one screen that proclaims, “Something’s gonna happen.” That text is accompanied by the studio’s logo, as well as a countdown.

The countdown is set for a few hours under 71 days from the time of writing, which will be 11 AM PDT on June 10. Incidentally, that is just two days after the Summer Game Fest showcase event for this year.

Back in August 2021, Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Goichi Suda, a.k.a. Suda51, said that the studio had as many as five games in varying stages of production. Meanwhile, in November last year, it was reported that the developer was working on a AAA survival horror game based on the Alien series. Said to be taking inspiration from the likes of Dead Space and Resident Evil, the game is allegedly due out Holiday 2023.

Grasshopper Manufacture was acquired by Chinese tech giant NetEase in October 2021.

Recently, Insider-Gaming’s Tom Henderson reported that a new survival horror AAA Alien game is in development and tentatively targeting a Holiday 2023 launch. While it was unknown at the time who the game was being developed by, Henderson has since then updated his report, and now claims that Grasshopper Manufacture, the developer of the No More Heroes franchise, is working on the unannounced horror title.

Grasshoppr Manufacture was acquired by Chinese tech giant NetEase in October 2021. Earlier in that year, the developer said it had five projects in production, of which three were new IPs that would launch within the next decade.

Earlier this year, Grasshopper Manufacture founder Goichi Suda said that the studio wanted to reveal new games this year, though with December right around the corner, it’s unknown if that’s still part of the plan.

As per a report published by Tom Henderson on Insider-Gaming, a new AAA survival horror Alien game is currently in development. While it’s unknown which studio is handling the project, the report claims that it takes inspiration from the likes of Resident Evil and Dead Space, and is tentatively targeting a Holiday 2023 launch for PC and current-gen consoles. Allegedly, the game is being developed under the codename Marathon.

Additionally, Henderson also claims that the same source has said that a sequel to the aforementioned Alien: Isolation is also either in early development, or in the process of being pitched. There’s no word on whether Creative Assembly is returning for the project- more importantly, there’s very little certainty over whether the project even exists right now, so take that as you will.

Regardless of whether or not the Isolation sequel happens, if the 2023 survival horror title is indeed real, then it should be interesting to see when it gets announced, especially with The Game Awards scheduled for December 8.

Currently, two Alien games are officially known to be in development- Focus Entertainment and Tindalos Interactive’s single player squad-based action title Aliens: Dark Descent, and Survios’ unnamed VR horror title.

Earlier, we got the report that Boss Key Productions was in talks with Fox to create a game based on the legendary sci-fi Alien franchise. The title would have taken place after the second movie, ignoring the others after it, and followed an adult Newt. But it seems they weren’t the only ones in talks with Fox about adapting the series.

The VP of publisher 3D Realms, Frederik Schreiber, revealed that his company was also talking with Fox, even saying they were well into pre-production before the cancellation. It would have been PvE multiplayer-based shooter called Aliens: Hadley’s Hope, so obviously quite different from what Boss Key Productions were apparently working on. Schreiber had several concepts write ups, which you can read below.

With Disney merging with Fox, it seems that a lot of potential Alien projects went by the wayside. The series is continuing in game form, however, with an upcoming MMO based on the franchise that’s apparently in development. Hopefully, that won’t get cut like so many others apparently have been.

Yup. Game was called Aliens: Hadleys Hope. We went quite far into pre-production before the Disney/Fox acquisition, and then we had to cancel it, and move on with something else.

Maybe some day! I bet yours was very different than ours? pic.twitter.com/brpq4FgwWT

— Frederik Schreiber (@Freschism) February 11, 2020

A number of people were left understandably disappointed when it was recently announced that Alien: Blackout would be a mobile game– hardly the full-fledged console and PC title we’ve been waiting for since Isolation launched back in 2014. However, FoxNext has assured fans that Blackout is not the only new Alien game currently in development. 

Last year, FoxNext confirmed that a new Alien title for consoles and PC was in development at Cold Iron Studios, and in a press release sent out recently, they confirmed that that was still very much the case, which means that Blackout shouldn’t be confused with that game. FoxNext confirmed that beyond Blackout, there’s “even more entries in Amanda Ripley’s story soon to be announced”, before going on to explicitly mention the Cold Iron Studios game, which, interestingly enough, they also confirmed is an MMO shooter.

“FoxNext Games’ studio, Cold Iron Studios, is also currently at work on a massively multiplayer online shooter set in the Alien cinematic universe for consoles and PC,” the press release stated. Meanwhile, the official Alien Twitter page also reassured fans that “there is still more to come… very soon.”

It should be interesting to see how an MMO shooter based on the Alien franchise works- and I’m still not sure if that’s the kind of game Isolation fans have been looking forward to. Either way, it’s best to reserve judgment for now, at least until we hear or see something more concrete about the game. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more updates until then.

Dear Alien fans, there is still more to come… very soon. #ReadPlayWATCH #AmandaRipley

— Alien (@AlienAnthology) January 7, 2019

Alien: Isolation starts off with the player taking the role of Amanda Ripley, daughter of series heroine Ellen Ripley. Set fifteen years after the original 1979 classic, Amanda has never stopped searching for her mother, who was on the Nostromo when it went missing. One day she is approached by a Weyland-Yutani representative told that the crew of the Sevastopol space station has found the Nostromo’s flight recorder. Amanda wastes no time in traveling to the Sevastopol to potentially hear the final moments of her mother’s life. Unfortunately for her, the Sevastopol has been set upon by the same life form that caused the terrible events of the Nostromo.

"Amanda wastes no time in traveling to the Sevastopol to potentially hear the final moments of her mother’s life.
"

First and foremost, Isolation is a stealth game. There are segments where you may need to use your pistol to combat android and human enemies, but most of the time it will benefit you more to just sneak around them. Human enemies are easily dispatched using your various weapons and crafted items, but the androids are much more resilient. And the Xenomorph? Well, the Xenomorph is invincible. The only recourse you have with it is fire, so when you eventually get the flamethrower or molotovs, you can use them to scare it off momentarily (and I mean momentarily). However, if you use them too much, the creature will only be stunned for a few seconds before pouncing on you.

There aren’t many encounters in the game that pit you against human/android enemies, most of the time you will be making your way through the station avoiding the Xenomorph. Thankfully this is the case, because I felt like the parts where you are pitted against the other enemies, especially the androids, were among the weakest in the game. Human encounters are mostly fine, they are usually circumvented easily, and in some cases you can lure the Xenomorph to kill them with a well placed distraction. This isn’t the case with the androids though, as the Xenomorph will not attack them. Add to that the fact that they will swarm your position when alerted and take entirely too much damage to kill, and you have yourself a recipe for frustration. The saving grace here is that these encounters are few and far between.

I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to horror games. I deplore when a game uses a large amount of cheap jump scares to startle the player. It’s lazy and there’s no craftsmanship to it. I’ve been turned off on a lot of horror games due to this. And while this trope is in Isolation, the game knows it has to earn those moments, and it never puts you into that situation deliberately. What I mean by this is that whenever the game has a jump scare, it is something dynamic, and could often have been avoided by careful observations of one’s surroundings. For instance, you could round a corner and find the Xenomorph right there staring at you. It isn’t because the Xenomorph suddenly appeared there, it is because you weren’t using your motion tracker and peeking around corners.

"Whenever the game has a jump scare, it is something dynamic, and could often have been avoided by careful observations of one’s surroundings."

Isolation is a game where you need to be careful of your surroundings. Being careless will always lead to a quick impaling by the Xenomorph. To aid in your endeavor you are given a motion tracker, and the ability to craft items. Among these items are noisemakers, emp grenades, medpacks, and molotov cocktails. You’ll need to collect blueprints for each item before you can craft it, and they are easily missed if you are just speeding through areas trying to get away from the alien as fast as possible. Exploring areas to find these blueprints is key, as you will find later segments much easier when you have them.

The Xenomorph is the most impressive thing about Alien: Isolation. I don’t say that lightly either, I could write an essay on it’s dynamic AI alone. The Xenomorph is a one hit kill when it finds you, forcing players to avoid detection at all cost. He’s going to follow you throughout the game, and when you don’t see him you will always feel his presence. You’ll wander down corridors, and through rooms trying to complete your objective, all the while picking up the odd blip on your tracker, to remind you that you’re never truly isolated. You can hide under desks, in cabinets, and in lockers, but if you aren’t holding your breath the Xenomorph will hear you and rip you from safety. The creature is dangerous, and it demands you respect that fact if you want to make it to the end.

"The Xenomorph is the most impressive thing about Alien: Isolation.
"

The attention to detail in this game is staggering. It is a faithful recreation of the technology from the first film. Computers use old DOS prompts, handheld devices are big and bulky with mechanical button inputs instead of our now modern touch screens. On top of this everything uses rudimentary graphic design reminiscent of the Atari 2600. In fact, one of the small hacking minigames uses designs from the Alien Pac-Man clone for the 2600. Its not just the technology though, the designers have gone through painstaking measures to create the look and feel of the 1979 classic in the design of the ship’s interior. I recently watched the first movie again in preparation for this review and I was amazed by how accurate everything turned out to be.

I normally don’t acknowledge sound design in games. A lot of the time it is pretty negligible to my experience with them. I play a lot of games wearing headphones, but I feel like developers very rarely put a lot of effort into designing their sound around that type of immersion. It’s clear that this wasn’t the case with Alien: Isolation. Busted pipes hiss, vents creak, computer hard drives write, and the loudspeakers blare announcements. These small things go far in giving ambient sound to the environment and bring it to life. Add to this the recut score from the original film during sequences with the Xenomorph and you have some of the best sound design in recent years.

"The attention to detail in this game is staggering. It is a faithful recreation of the technology from the first film."

I’ve seen some people say that they thought the game was too long, I don’t share this opinion. I definitely understand where they are coming from, but for me it was more of an issue with pacing. There are at least two points where the game seems to ramp up to a climax, but doesn’t end. Honestly this didn’t bother me. To me, this is part of the Alien experience with the movie franchise also sharing the “False end” trope. I appreciated this game’s 18+ hour length as a fan of the movies and can’t get enough. In fact, I will probably play all of the DLC just to get more time with it.

Overall Alien: Isolation is the game Alien fans have been waiting for. In spite of the numerous broken promises in the last 35 years, Creative Assembly has successfully formatted a love letter to fans of the franchise, one that has taken far too long to get here. A golden standard has been set for all future titles in the Alien universe. Simply put, Isolation is the definitive Alien game that no fan should miss out on.

This game was reviewed on the Playstation 4.