The first gazette notice, required paperwork for the dissolution of a company, was first filed on November 11th, since then, the studio has filed the rest of its required paperwork, noting major changes to some of its important personnel. It is worth noting that neither Sony nor any one from the studio’s leadership has made any official announcement or comments about the dissolution.

Ballistic Moon was a studio founded by former Supermassive Games developers, having worked on several cinematic horror titles in the past. The studio had only worked on one major project before ultimately being dissolved—the Until Dawn remake for PC and PS5. However, the title saw lukewarm critical reception, with its Metacritic aggregate sitting at 70. While the visuals had been improved over the original PS4 release, many of the more critical reviewers noted that the $59.99 price tag, the change to a third-person over-the-shoulder angle for the camera, as well as technical issues were major flaws.

As for general reception, the Until Dawn remake’s launch was met with few players, with one report noting that its player count was 28 percent lower than the disastrous launch of Concord. Over the next year, Ballistic Moon would be hit by quite a few lay-offs, first letting go of around 40 of its employees in September 2024, and then another 20 roles being cut in December 2024. As of March 2025, the studio was considered “effectively closed”, with its founders and “possibly” a few other employees still on the payroll “at most”.

Until Dawn is a horror game that revolves around a group of young friends staying at an isolated ski lodge as part of their vacation. However, a prank goes wrong, resulting in two of them running out into the darkness, never to be heard from again. A year later, the remaining friends decide to revisit the lodge to commemorate the death of their friends. Things start getting out of hand, however, when strange things start happening, making it look like someone might be trying to kill the entire group.

The gameplay largely revolves around exploring the surroundings as one of the eight characters, slowly unravelling the mystery, and occasionally partaking in quick-time event-based action scenes. Along the way, players also get to make choices for each of the characters, with these decisions having far-reaching impact, defining which member of the crew lives, and who dies.

Until Dawn also got a movie last year, directed by David F. Sandberg. Despite sharing a name and certain themes, however, the movie’s story was an entirely new one. It revolves around four friends traveling to a remote valley to find answers about the disappearance of one of their friends’ sisters. The crew ultimately finds themselves trapped in a strange time loop, however, with many of them falling prey to horrifying ways of dying.

A remake of Supermassive’s classic, it was released for PS5 and PC in October 2024 to mixed reviews (and the Until Dawn film didn’t do much to bolster interest). You can check out our thoughts here, but alongside low Steam numbers, it reportedly performed worse than Concord on PS5. Developer Ballistic Moon would “effectively” close last March after failing to secure funding (and allegedly pitching another project to Sony).

Of course, there’s apparently even more in store, including As Dusk Falls and V Rising for Extra subscribers. As for PlayStation Classics, available exclusively for Premium subscribers, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tekken 3 and Soulcalibur 3 will reportedly be made available. Stay tuned for more updates and the official announcement in the meantime.

That’s per Insider Gaming, which claims in a freshly published report that Ballistic Moon has laid off the vast majority of its staff, to the extent that it has “effectively closed”. The studio laid off around 40 people in September, followed by another 20 roles cut in December. Currently, it’s claimed that the studio employs a handful at best – its founders, and “possibly” a few others “at most”.

It’s claimed that Ballistic Moon and Sony had preliminary discussions about a second project or updates for the Until Dawn remake possibly being greenlit, though that never happened. The studio allegedly pitched projects to other publishers but failed to secure funding.

Of course, on paper, Ballistic Moon remains active, and it’s claimed in the report that it’s likely to begin staffing back up if it obtains funding. For now, there has been no word from the studio on the state it is currently in.

Leaks have claimed that an Until Dawn sequel is currently in development at first-party PlayStation studio Firesprite. Meanwhile, an Until Dawn movie is also releasing on April 25.

Patch 1.06 has now gone live for Until Dawn, and chief among its tweaks and changes is the addition of new Performance and Fidelity modes on both PS5 and PS5 Pro, allowing players to prioritize either a higher frame rate or improved graphics. A large number of bugs and glitches throughout the experience have also been addressed. You can view the full patch notes below.

However, while the patch is currently live on PS5, Ballistic Moon says it’s “slightly” delayed on PC, since apparently it needs “a little more testing”. The developer says the patch will go live for PC players sometime later this week though, so it won’t be much of a wait.

Until Dawn is available on PS5 and PC. Read our review of the remake through here. A movie based on the horror title is also releasing on April 25 next year.

PATCH NOTES:

What’s New for 1.06

• Performance Mode (PS5 & PS5 Pro only, prioritises FPS)
• Fidelity Mode (PS5 & PS5 Pro only, prioritises Graphics)
• Monitor switching support for PC

Fixes

• Fix for anti-virus interfering with the game and the crash reporter
• Fix for a crash that occurred when pausing the game during pre-rendered videos
• Fix for character models appearing briefly when pausing the game
• Fix for CPU performance issues on PCs where the system supports Ray tracing but it is not enabled
• Fix for Mike being stuck in the Sanatorium during Chapter 5 (Wolfie cutscene not triggering)
• Fix for extremely slow shader complilation speeds & crashes when Frame Generation is enabled
• Fix for several ‘soft-lock’ scenarios (Stranger missing in Chapter 8, Mike stuck in Sanatorium Psych Ward in Chapter 9, Sam stuck after window cutscene in Chapter 9, Mike stuck in Sanatorium lower level during Chapter 5)
• Fix for choppy/tearing pre-rendered videos
• Fix for Streamer Mode tracks not muting correctly
• Fix for descriptions on Pause Menu for How to Play & Dialogue History
• Environment lighting optimisations in picnic area of Chapter 2
• Fix for Mike floating above the ground after picking up the lantern during Chapter 3
• Default Steam Deck quality is now appropriate to the device
• Fix for a crash that occurred during the lodge fight in Chapter 2
• Updates to deer model fur cards
• Fix for Emily’s flare not lighting correctly during Chapter 8
• Fix for Josh missing facial animations 
• Fix for LOD issues in the environment when playing as Mike in Chapter 8
• Fix for music stopping unexpectedly when continuing to play Prologue
• Deep snow material optimisations for High quality settings
• Scalability balancing tweaks for high end PC and PS5 Performance modes
• Fix for Mike’s torch flame jitter during Chapter 9
• Fix for Sam’s looping animation during rock pickup during Chapter 10
• Fix for Sam and Mike floating when entering the lodge in Chapter 10
• Fix for lodge disappearing during Chapter 8
• Fix for Jess ‘Hug a bear’ VO line not triggering as expected in Chapter 2 
• Upgrading TSR to Unreal 5.4 to improve ghosting on character hair
• Optimisation for snow system that caused some minor CPU performance issues on PCs with a lower core count
• Fix for Sam sinking into the ground when entering the body of water in Chapter 10
• Fix for film grain running at incorrect frame rate
• Fix for Mike and Sam’s lip sync being incorrect during the ‘flood door’ cutscene in Chapter 10
• Fix for Native American Letter clue examine text
• Fix for a collision issue during Emily’s exploration of the mines in Chapter 7
• Fix for Emily missing facial animation during chase sequence in Chapter 8
• Fix for Emily clipping issues during cable car shimmy sequence in Chapter 5
• Fix for Sam clipping issues during conversation with Chris in Chapter 2
• Fix for rendering issue during Mike’s Old Mask choice in Chapter 2
• Fix for Mike and Sam briefly disappearing when climbing back into the water in Chapter 10
• Adjustments to benchmarking for lower-spec PCs
• Adjustments to intensity of Matt’s scared facial animation during pause menu
• Fix for issues with motion blur
• Fix for Mike’s incorrect facial animation 
• Fix clipping issues on the Stranger’s head/beanie in Chapter 8
• Fix for Sam’s face appearing swollen during the Chris introduction in Chapter 1
• Fix for Jess’ hair popping during the police tape discussion in Chapter 2
• Fix for Stranger’s missing flamethrower during Chapter 8
• Fix for Dr Hill’s hand slam SFX on desk occurring too late during Chapter 1
• Fix for Jess animation loop when waiting for Mike to push the minecart in Chapter 2
• Fix for looping SFX on the lantern when shooting the lock off the gate in Chapter 5
• Fix for Ashley breathing too loudly 
• Added low video memory warning to the beginning of the game (for PC configurations lower than minimum spec)

As reported by Deadline, Sony Pictures and Screen Gems’ Until Dawn adaptative will release in theaters worldwide on April 25 next year. Directed by David F. Sandberg of Shazam! and Lights Out fame, the horror movie has an ensemble cast featuring Maia Mitchell, Belmont Cameli, Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, and Odessa A’zion, with Peter Stormare also reprising his role as Dr. Hill from the game.

The Until Dawn remake is available on PS5 and PC. Read our review of the game through here, where we awarded it a score of 8/10. Reports have claimed that first-party PlayStation studio Firesprite is also working on an Until Dawn 2.

As per a report by TrueTrophies – which cites gameplay sample data from over 3.1 million active PSN accounts – Until Dawn saw 28 percent fewer players on PS5 at launch than the disastrous Concord, which launched earlier this year and was on the market for just two weeks before being pulled offline and taken off sale.

In comparison, the biggest single-player launch that the PS5 has allegedly seen so far this year was The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which had 98.5 percent more players than the Until Dawn remake at launch, the report claims.

The horror title is also available on PC, but hasn’t done too much better there either, having peaked at just over 2,000 concurrent players on Steam, making it one of Sony’s worst-performing games on the platform to date.

Critical reception for Until Dawn has been mixed, with the remake sitting at a Metacritic score of 70 after 31 reviews. Our own review of the remake was more positive. Awarding it a score of 8/10, we said, “Though it’s hard not to see the validity of criticisms over its pricing and and questions over whether it even needed to be made, the Until Dawn remake is ultimately a solid and enhanced new version of a modern horror classic.” Read the full review through here.

An Until Dawn movie is due out next year, having recently wrapped filming. Reportedly, a sequel to Until Dawn is also in development at Firesprite. Read more on that through here.

It would also resonate with fans thanks to its writing and branching outcomes, pushing the limits of adventure games and crossing over into interactive drama. The format was so successful that it influenced Supermassive Games’ future work, as seen in The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Quarry, and The Casting of Frank Stone. Also, despite the hardware’s limits, Until Dawn leveraged it to deliver excellent facial and body animations, atmospheric lighting and shadows, and realistic environments.

A Ground-up Remake

While other PlayStation titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us get the “Remastered” treatment, Sony opted for a remake with Until Dawn, handing the reins to Ballistic Moon (which features several former members of Supermassive). Instead of improving the base game’s visuals or upgrading it for the PS5, the studio rebuilt it from the ground up for the console (and PC). It also added several changes, like a reworked Prologue, providing more context to the events that served as the basis for the rest of the game. There are new areas which offer new interactions, a third-person camera in some instances, new Totems to collect, and much more. But how does all this compare to the original?

Unreal Engine 5 serves as the base for the remake, with almost everything from models, environments, animations and effects seeing updates. The improvements to materials (especially on clothing), rendering and textures for characters and environments, on top of a higher level of detail, bring the world to life with startling fidelity. It even allows for revamping the system used to inflict injuries on characters, resulting in more realistic cuts and bruises, making some deaths look much more eerie than the original, even without the excessive gore. Meanwhile, ray tracing is implemented for shadows, ambient occlusion and reflections to stellar effect.

Lighting and Shadow Improvements

One of the more notable examples of the new lighting can be seen in the Prologue after Beth storms out of the cabin. The original game featured the rest of the cast outside arguing while they were illuminated by the interior lighting. In the remake, that illumination is more natural and warm, resulting in more subtle shadows and varying color tones. It even serves to light up other background characters, like Emily and Jessica (especially when the latter appeared more shrouded in shadows in the original).

The difference in quality of lighting and shadows is all the more apparent when we follow Hannah in the Prologue as she searches for Beth. The moon rays and the shadows they create in the original are more defined. However, in the remake, they’re softer and feel more natural, resulting in a different kind of atmosphere that’s more foreboding and gothic.

When Beth uses the flashlight on her phone, there’s a defining contrast between its hard glare and the moonlight on the environment. This sequence is a bit extended, resulting in a change of pacing with some extra scares and surprises, but soon follows the same frantic chase sequence and quick time events of the original.

Tone Shift and Model Improvements

Of course, the first Chapter – where Sam arrives at the Blackwood Mountain one year later – is where some more divisive stylistic choices emerge. The original Until Dawn opted for a nighttime atmosphere where, once again, the moon is the major light source. We even see the title’s chapter, “Memento Mori”, with the added text, “10 hours until dawn,” implying that it’s in the evening/early night.

However, the remake removes this text and opts for more dusk-style lighting with wildly different color tones. The jury is out on this and how it impacts the overall atmosphere – some are indifferent, others hate it with a burning passion. Perhaps it’s meant to highlight the increased fidelity, including the higher level of detail in the environment, like more extensive tree branches and foliage. Even the Blackwood Pines sign looks more weathered and defined with discolored textures compared to the original’s flat board, which looks like it was carved out the day prior.

As much criticism as one can heap on some time-of-day changes and their accompanying lighting or the new camera perspective, there’s no denying just how incredible the character models look. The detailed skin textures showcase visible pores while the eyes appear more vibrant. The difference in Sam’s clothing, with the cap featuring meticulously detailed fur strands, or the scarf, with more defined frayed threads, is also simply incredible to behold. Snowflakes on cloth are also more visible, adding further to the attention to detail. The facial animations are also a major upgrade without being too over-the-top.

Overhauled Cinematography

Another interesting contrast between the two versions is how Ballistic Moon revamped much of the cinematography. It varies extensively – take the Prologue scene where Beth leaves the cabin and shows more of the characters outside than the original, a decidedly more subtle change. However, in the cabin in Chapter 1, Sam confronting Josh about no hot water features a different camera angle entirely – which actually shows off more of the environment and lighting but still gives the impression of viewing the action from behind Chris and Ashley. The shaky cam as seen in the sequence where a masked figure chases Josh and Sam, also feels more natural, meshing better when cutting to the figure stumbling.

Overall, the Until Dawn remake is a significant upgrade in visuals. It improves on the base game in numerous ways, providing more haunting environments and extensive detail on its characters. The new cinematography also looks crisp without taking away from the original’s vision and the lighting and shadows look immaculate. First chapter tones aside, it captures the creepiness and harrowing atmosphere of the original to a tee, even amplifying it to new heights. If you’ve never experienced the original, the remake is worth checking, though you might want to wait for patches to address some of the reported bugs.

However, it’s impressive how much the original Until Dawn has held up by today’s standards. As much as I enjoyed the more natural lighting and softer shadows or the rebuilt character models and how much more expressive they are, there’s an atmosphere to the original which feels distinct and oppressive. Perhaps it’s the colder tones and starker lighting which lead to a more dramatic effect, or the presentation. Regardless, PS5 players may want to check it despite the lack of a dedicated upgrade, not only because of a lower price point but to experience Supermassive’s vision first-hand.

Director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation, Shazam!) recently took to Instagram and revealed that filming has wrapped up on the movie adaptation of the acclaimed 2015 Sony and Supermassive Games horror title. 

The Until Dawn movie is co-produced by PlayStation Productions and Screen Gems, and stars an ensemble cast of Maia Mitchell, Belmont Cameli, Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, and Odessa A’zion. Peter Stormare, who played the mysterious Dr. Hill in the game, reprises his role as well. 

A remake of Until Dawn, developed by Ballistic Moon, released for PS5 and PC last week, but has failed to attract much of an audience on PC upon its release. 

In our review of the remake, we awarded it a sore of 8/10, saying, “Though it’s hard not to see the validity of criticisms over its pricing and and questions over whether it even needed to be made, the Until Dawn remake is ultimately a solid and enhanced new version of a modern horror classic.” Read the full review through here.

As per a recent leak, a sequel to Until Dawn is also in development at first-party PlayStation studio Firesprite. Read more on that through here.

As pr SteamDB, over the course of its launch weekend, Until Dawn saw a peak of just 2,607 concurrent players on Steam, which is among the worst launches for a PlayStation title on the platform, ranking below the likes of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (8,757 peak concurrent players) and Returnal (6,691 peak concurrent players).

In fact, the only two PlayStation games with lower concurrent player peaks on Steam than the Until Dawn remake are Concord (697 players) and Sackboy: A Big Adventure (610 players).

Until Dawn currently also has a Mixed user review score aggregate on Steam, with 33 percent of the 560 user ratings it has received at the time of writing being negative. Criticism has been directed at the remake’s price, technical issues, mandatory PSN requirement, and more.

In our review of the remake, we awarded it a sore of 8/10, saying, “Though it’s hard not to see the validity of criticisms over its pricing and and questions over whether it even needed to be made, the Until Dawn remake is ultimately a solid and enhanced new version of a modern horror classic.” Read the full review through here.

Until Dawn is available on PS5 and PC.

Now, nine years later, Sony has brought the game back to life with a remake developed by British studio Ballistic Moon, and though many have, of course, questioned the need for a remake of a game that doesn’t really feel like it has aged that much, having binged the game in a couple of sittings, I can say that I’ve had a really good time with this Until Dawn remake. For the most part, it’s an extremely faithful recreation of the original (other than a somewhat altered prologue and some new ending content that potentially implies interesting things for the future), so questions will definitely be asked about whether this remake was even needed in the first place (especially given the fact that it’s launched at a $60 price point). If, however, you’re a fan of the original looking to play an enhanced and (arguably) better-looking version, or someone who never played the original and is looking to play through it it on modern hardware, the remake becomes a much easier recommendation.

"Questions will definitely be asked about whether this remake was even needed in the first place (especially given the fact that it’s launched at a $60 price point). If, however, you’re a fan of the original looking to play an enhanced and (arguably) better-looking version, or someone who never played the original and is looking to play through it it on modern hardware, the remake becomes a much easier recommendation."

But let’s get through the basics first. Until Dawn built its reputation on the back of its teen horror, slasher film-inspired vibes, as well as how heavily it emphasized player choice, with gameplay being driven almost entirely by QTEs and some light environmental interactions. All of that is brought over almost as is in the remake. The slasher horror setting is still an incredibly effective one, especially because of how smartly the game keeps you on your toes, with everything from jump scares to genuinely frightening or tense moments and sequences. I’ll avoid spoilers for those who’re playing Until Dawn for the first time, but suffice to say, the game does a great job of building tension and frequently hitting you with legitimate scares and tense set-pieces.

The central mysteries surrounding the terrifying forces stalking the main cast throughout the story also remain a strong part of the game from beginning to end- though not everything related to the narrative sticks the landing. The Until Dawn remake faithfully sticks to the original game’s story and script, which means it carries over a lot of flaws, from the writing being anywhere between serviceable and bad enough to make your ears bleed, to some members of the cast being terrible characters that I was actively hoping would perish in violent fashion. Admittedly, there are characters in Until Dawn that are consciously written that way- but those, sadly, weren’t the only ones I legitimately hated. Either way, while I have all the time in the world for Until Dawn’s horror side of things, thanks to just how well the game handles that stuff, when it comes to the teen drama, it becomes a much more annoying game.

The choice and consequence mechanics also retain their charm. Until Dawn always felt particularly effective in how much it emphasized the weight of players’ actions, and how significant the consequences of your actions, your inaction, your mistakes, and pretty much everything else you did felt throughout the story. That very much remains a core strength of the remake, to no one’s surprise. From the clues that you find or don’t find to the quick choices that you’re asked to make in hectic moments, to the decisions that you make in interactions between different characters, and more, Until Dawn ensures that it makes changes throughout its story, both big and small, by constantly reacting to you, and it ensures that you’re always aware that that’s happening.

"The game does a great job of building tension and frequently hitting you with legitimate scares and tense set-pieces."

The remake does, of course, also bring some of its own additions and changes, even if it is otherwise quite a faithful recreation of its source material. One of its bigger changes is a new third-person camera, with certain scenes being changed to allow players greater control of the camera. Used alongside the original’s fixed cameras, it achieves a great effect, both modernizing the experience and also allowing it to feel even more cinematic. Meanwhile, there’s also new totems to find,  some small environmental additions to allow for just a smidge more exploration, and new accessibility options for players who want to tweak the game’s QTE prompts in several ways. Additionally, existing totems have also seen their locations remixed.

On a visual and technical level, I’ve found the Until Dawn remake to be an impressive upgrade, though mileage will likely vary on this front. Unlike the original, which was built on the Decima Engine, the Until Dawn remake has been rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, bringing improved facial models and animations, greater detail in the environments, better gore and snow effects, new lighting, and more. Given the changes, a number of scenes have certainly had their look changed noticeably, and not everyone will like those changes. Personally, however, I think the remake largely succeeds at retaining the atmosphere of the original while also applying noticeable enhancements that genuinely improve the experience. The characters all look much better, their injuries look much more detailed, and the many death scenes that you can encounter throughout the game – which were already pretty brutal to begin with – now look even more gleefully violent.

That said, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come without technical issues- because there definitely are a couple that deserve to be called out. The frame rate, for starters, can be surprisingly choppy at times. Even during low-key scenes that shouldn’t be too taxing on the hardware, Until Dawn’s frame rate can stutter noticeably, and it happens more often than you’d want. Meanwhile, I’ve also run into a couple of animation bugs here and there, from characters briefly moving strangely during some gameplay sections to having momentarily choppy movements in certain cutscenes. Obviously, none of these issues are particularly egregious, but they’re noticeable enough, and will hopefully be patched out in the near future.

"For fans of the original rearing for another go or newcomers looking to finally hop in, the Until Dawn remake is very much worth your time."

Ultimately, the question for many is going to be whether Sony and Ballistic Moon’s Until Dawn remake is worth its price, which many deem to be a bit too steep upon the game’s release. Equally, many will also remain skeptical whether this was a remake that was needed at all, a dilemma that another PlayStation remake faced not too long ago with The Last of Us Part 1. And just like with that game, while it’s hard to argue against the validity of those criticisms, it also has to be said that this is an undeniably solid enhancement of a really good game. It will understandably be a hard sell for many, but for fans of the original rearing for another go or newcomers looking to finally hop in, the Until Dawn remake is very much worth your time.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.