This time around, Jun Aslan and their fellow companions descend to the fiery depths of an underground volcanic ruin, where Eruption, a new gauntlet ability, proves to be quite handy at navigating and avoiding all of the nasty magma. It has quite a range of useful functions, allowing you to build bridges out of limestone deposits, redirect magma flows, and clear a path when there’s debris in your way, but this may only be a taste of things to come.

The new trailer joins last week’s look at a journey to a frosty planet where alien ruins loomed large before we were abruptly cut off from learning more about them. Nevertheless, Exodus looks to be an ambitious title that aims to keep you as immersed as it can in a universe filled with some incredible biome variety, combat and terrifyingly powerful threats like the Mara-Yama.

It arrives next year for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, and despite everything else that’s coming up, the time can’t pass fast enough. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime, including a date for that extended showcase.

We’re beginning to suspect that there are more of these on the way before Archetype comes out with a more elaborate gameplay showcase that gives us a proper look. The footage in this latest snippet showcases protagonist Jun Aslan and a couple of allies exploring a frozen planet with mysterious alien structures off in the distance, which they’re seemingly preparing to explore. Sadly, the footage cuts off well before they even begin their expedition or try to make their way to it.

We would have liked to see a bit of traversal, but it is what it is. We’re confident that all of these glimpses will be expanded upon in the Summer showcase, complete with commentary on how the game’s many systems work together. Even the side content promises to push us into engaging with it for the sake of its impact on the larger narrative.

Exodus is currently scheduled to release in 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It has some strong competition in the form of The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, but so far, both games look to scratch that Mass Effect itch.

It’s only 46 seconds long, but that’s more than enough for the studio to show off the Shredder, which does some serious damage to a bunch of vicious Ghosts that are hellbent on preventing your entry into Khonsu. We presume it’s going to be an important part of a story that blends sci-fi shooting action with political intrigue to create an experience that’s looking more interesting with every showcase.

Like the first gameplay trailer it showcased a few days ago, Archetype’s latest peek at the game once again carries the promise of an extended look at how its systems are going to come together this summer. If the gameplay we’ve seen so far is any indication, that one’s going to be a doozy, and we’re hoping to see some of the side content and how it fits in with the main narrative in some form.

If you’re curious to see the Shredder in action for yourself, the trailer is showcased below. Exodus releases sometime in 2027 for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Although we have less than two minutes of footage, things are looking pretty good for the studio’s pilot project, with some excellently polished visuals across the three short glimpses of what life will be like when we join the Travelers in their search for Remnants. In the combat clip, Jun Aslan teams with Elise to attack enemies, and the weapon variety was among the first things to catch our eye. Different firearms with specific functions are used to neutralize threats with brutal precision.

The following clip focuses on platforming with a very handy grappling gun, and a fascinating place called the Sankhara Glyph Shrine, with some very fancy, high-tech stuff powering the world around you. It’s all fascinating, although we’ll have to wait until this Summer to see more of the game. But this first look is a solid start, if you ask us.

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with this one, it’s a title whose makers wear their love for Mass Effect on their sleeves, while they’re keen on making its side content as compelling as the politically fraught main narrative that could test your moral code once you dive in.

Exodus is in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, and launches in 2027.

“We don’t want things to feel tacked-on,” he said. “We definitely don’t want you to feel like you’re doing it because you’re obligated, or you just need the experience points. We want side quests to be something you would do even if you weren’t getting a reward. You’re going to get rewards, of course, but we want you to feel like ‘this is something I’m interested in, this is something I want to explore.’ Side content should always feel “tied to the themes of our game, tied to the companions you have, tied into the interesting aspects of our game that maybe don’t get explored as much on the critical path.”

In the same interview, Karpyshyn also spoke about one of the core elements of the Exodus story—Time Dilation. Through this, the RPG will be able to tell a story that spans decades while also ensuring that players’ choices appropriately impact the narrative.

“Time Dilation is one of the defining elements of our story,” says Karpysyhn, “So we want to make sure that we pay it off in ways that players will really, really appreciate.” However, he also noted that the Time Dilation element was quite challenging to work with. “There were times where I was like ‘what the hell did we think we were doing?'”

Generally speaking, Karpyshyn believes that there is an appetite for big sci-fi RPGs like the Mass Effect series that is going largely ignored by the industry. He spoke about how many members of the development teams are fans of the genre, and how this has also meant that Archetype Entertainment is facing quite a bit of pressure to deliver with Exodus.

“We know there’s a hunger out there,” said Karpyshyn. “We’re fans as well. We know the kind of games we like, and we know the audience is waiting for the next big one of these to drop, and that gives us a huge opportunity to fill that need. But it’s an unbelievable amount of pressure, because their expectations are rightfully very high, and we’re working very hard to make sure we meet those expectations.”

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” he continued. “And we just have a very high bar we have to deliver on. That’s one of the reasons making games is so hard, because the bar keeps getting elevated by all the great games that came before. You need to take it to another level.”

Exodus is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. While it doesn’t have a precise release date, the studio is aiming for a 2027 launch window.

“We know there’s a hunger out there,” said Karpyshyn. “We’re fans as well. We know the kind of games we like, and we know the audience is waiting for the next big one of these to drop, and that gives us a huge opportunity to fill that need. But it’s an unbelievable amount of pressure, because their expectations are rightfully very high, and we’re working very hard to make sure we meet those expectations.”

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” he continued. “And we just have a very high bar we have to deliver on. That’s one of the reasons making games is so hard, because the bar keeps getting elevated by all the great games that came before. You need to take it to another level.”

King also chimed in with his thoughts about the modern state of gaming, noting that he has been quite bored in the current landscape aside from a few exceptions. Pointing to Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yōtei as examples, he spoke about being on the hunt for “fresh, crazy, new experiences”.

“As a gamer, more so than as a game developer, I find over the years I’ve gotten a little bored,” explained King. “Some of the franchises I used to play constantly have sort of bailed out. Thinking back on the games I’ve played [last] year, like Blue Prince, Clair Obscur, Ghost of Yōtei, I’m looking for fresh, crazy, new experiences. And I’m hoping that other people are looking for the same thing. We think we have a really interesting take on a sci-fi, open-world, space opera RPG. So that’s my hope, that people give us a chance and check something out that I think is interesting and different from what they played before.”

King had spoken about Mass Effect and Guerrilla Games’ Horizon series serving as major inspirations for the upcoming Exodus, pointing to aspects like the former’s space opera trappings and choices that carry over between games, and the latter’s combat system.

“Obviously, one that comes up all the time is Mass Effect,” said King back in October. “We obviously share some DNA. The epic space opera, the mega choices that carry over from game to game. Combat, we have a lot of stuff coming up. Mass Effect, Horizon is probably another one we’ve drawn some inspiration from.”

Archetype Entertainment co-founder and general manager Chad Robertson referred to the Horizon games’ combat systems that revolve around making “decisions based on the construction of the things that you’re fighting.” This means that players have to “be smart about the tools that you use against it,” he explained. “There are some cool things that we think we’ve pulled in from that.”

Exodus is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for a 2027 launch.

Arknights: Endfield

Arknights: Endfield represents a major shift for the franchise, expanding its tower-defense roots into a full-fledged action RPG. Real-time combat, squad-based mechanics, and large-scale environments are just a few highlights of the experience, but there’s a lot more to get excited about as well. Despite the stark change, the game retains its distinctive art style and emphasis on world-building. Arknights: Endfield already received great critical and commercial reception on PC, and it is definitely worth checking out.

Coinciding with Bitta’s hiring, James Ohlen, co-founder of Exodus developer Archetype Entertainment, will be stepping aside from his position. Hasbro’s vice president of corporate communications Abby Hodes said in a statement that Ohlen’s work felt complete, and that he stepped aside so he could hand off the leadership position to the rest of the team. She also noted that Ohlen had “asked to shift his creative focus” on the tabletop RPG products at Wizards of the Coast, namely Dungeons & Dragons.

“At this stage, James felt his work on the game was complete and that the polishing and tuning were in great hands with the team,” said Hodes.

Hasbro has been hoping to push further into the video games industry following the massive success of 2023’s Baldur’s Gate 3. While there had been plenty of games based on the properties of Wizards of the Coast in the past, Baldur’s Gate 3 had hit sales milestones that hadn’t previously been seen by games based on Dungeons & Dragons. Since then, the company has announced many deals with various developers to work on brand new titles.

While some of these titles are slated to be part of the Dungeons & Dragons universe, which includes the recently-announced Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons as well as the unnamed project in the works at Stig Asmussen’s studio Giant Skull, Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro have also been casting a wider net. One of the bigger games in development right now has nothing to do with Dungeons & Dragons or Magic: The Gathering—Exodus.

Exodus has been in the works for quite some time, and got a brand new trailer during The Game Awards 2025. The sci-fi RPG’s developers have spoken about all of the different games they were inspired by, which includes the Mass Effect series, as well as Guerrilla Games’ Horizon franchise and even Nintendo’s Metroid Prime.

As for Giant Skull’s title, Hight had confirmed back in August that, while there might be a new Baldur’s Gate game made in the future, Asmussen’s team is working on a different project.

“Baldur’s Gate is an incredible game,” said Hight. “And of course, we’re going to do a successor. This is not the successor to that game. We go to Stig [Asmussen] and his team to tell an incredible story and bring D&D to a very broad audience. Ideally, the game will appeal to D&D players because it will help them realise their imagination. But it’s also going to hopefully appeal to people that love playing action games, that love the Jedi games, that love God of War games.”

“D&D, as Stig said, it’s a playground and it really is for everyone. Hundreds of millions of people have either played D&D or been aware of D&D, and we want to perpetuate that for the next 50 years.”

Set in a future where humanity is establishing colonies in star systems light-years away, the story focuses on humanity’s struggle for survival with different factions vying for control of a fragile society that’s also contending with the effects of time dilation.

Indeed, time may be of the essence as player agency, and the potential for multiple endings is slated to work with mechanics that could have you smiling fondly at memories of Interstellar, a sense of nostalgia made even better by the presence of Matthew McConaughey in the game’s cast.

However, you might want to pace out your excitement for this one, as it currently does not have a release date aside from an early 2027 window. That’s a long wait before you get to dive into this one on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

A potential release window announcement? Maybe even a release date? Exodus launches in 2026, so it’s certainly possible, but we may learn even more about humanity’s struggle to navigate the stars. Thus far, we’ve learned that players control Jun Aslan, who explores the cosmos to find remnants of the Celestials, touted as the “greatest threat of all.”

Alongside recruiting companions to their cause, they can use these remnants to harness exclusive abilities. While citing Horizon, Metroid Prime and Mass Effect as influences, Exodus puts an interesting spin on space travel with time dilation, which could cause hundreds of years to pass upon returning to Earth.

So, depending on your decisions and bonds, there will be long-standing consequences. Hopefully, The Game Awards trailer shines more light on that (and Matthew McConaughey’s role) when it premieres on December 11th.