One of the most stunning new games announced at The Game Awards was Exodus. The upcoming sci-fi action RPG will star Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey in his first-ever video game.
McConaughey was on stage at the event to introduce the new game from Archetype Entertainment, a Wizards of the Coast subsidiary studio. “I was going to come out and say the line that has preceded me all my years, ‘All right, all right, all right,'” McConaughey joked. “But they said, ‘Don’t do that! Say, pew, pew, pew.'”
“I have had some experience with time dilation, and now you can too,” the actor teased.
In the trailer, two astronauts explore a distant planet before one accidentally falls down an underground cavern. These two then discover a futuristic ship that would save humanity in its fight against an alien race called “The Celestials.” The game revolves around time dilations, a phenomenon where time passes slower during space travel, meaning that astronauts experience time differently.
Exodus will reportedly be driven by player choices, with each decision shaping the ending of the game. The game will feature gun fights, an intricate progression system, and AI companions. If it sounds familiar, that is because Starfield features the same set of gameplay mechanics. One key difference is the effects of time dilation in the game, as choices may affect other characters in years.
Archetype is a new studio founded in 2019 by Wizards of the Coast to develop new intellectual property outside of Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering franchises. The studio is led by James Ohlen, best known for working on the original Baldur’s Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age: Origins. He is joined by KOTOR executive producer Chad Robertson, Mass Effect 2 narrative director Drew Karpyshyn, and Halo 4 director Chris King. The studio is made up of former devs from Bioware, 343 Industries, and Naughty Dog.
With the amount of talented devs at Archetype, we are confident that they can pull off a successful space-action RPG title. An immersive, narrative-driven adventure game with a sprinkling of Baldur’s Gate style-RPG elements and gunplay from Mass Effect 2 sounds really interesting.
Exodus is currently in development and does not yet have a release date. We expect the game to come out sometime around 2025 and beyond. Exodus will be coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.
