Kinetic Games is expanding into the games publishing business. Before today, Kinetic has only been known for Phasmophobia, its four-player ghost-hunting game that first exploded during the COVID pandemic and has remained a favorite since then. It has apparently done well enough to allow the team to expand its business into publishing, as it’s announced a group of five games that make up its initial publishing efforts.
The lineup includes one horror title–and man, is it a big one–and also features other kinds of games, including a punky racing game starring witches on broomsticks, a super-tense Papers, Please-like experience in space, a cozy game inspired by Spiritfarer, and a metroidvania game that does something even Hollow Knight didn’t think of. Here’s what’s coming from Kinetic Publishing.
Precognition
Developed by Half Mermaid
In terms of name recognition, Sam Barlow’s team at Half Mermaid is the biggest one attached to the new label. Project C, Half Mermaid’s previously announced working-title project with Brandon Cronenberg (of the Cronenberg body-horror film dynasty), has officially been revealed as Precognition.
The team behind Immortality, Her Story, and Telling Lies is back again with another blend of full-motion-video gameplay, non-linear storytelling, and a deep rabbit hole for players to fall into.
In Precognition, you’ll play as Diana, who discovers she can see the future after receiving an experimental brain implant. As players explore these visions, they’ll commit some to Diana’s memory based on choices they make. In turn, they will alter the course of the story, which is being co-developed with Cronenberg.
All three of Barlow’s games to date have earned widespread acclaim, so suffice it to say this is a big get for Kinetic.
Precognition is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Spring 2028.
Aether Wizard Life
Developed by Vonder Games
Fans of cozy games such as Spiritfarer and Stardew Valley will want to keep an eye on Aether Wizard Life from Vonder Games. In it, you’ll create your own mage and live out your life in a customizable castle that resembles Spiritfarer’s boat-building tools very closely. You can tend to animals, cook meals, grow crops, and work jobs around different towns.
All the while, you’ll be exploring a story with a touch of darkness to it, as a secret organization is endangering the lives of mages all over, and you’ll need to get to the bottom of the situation.
Aether will feature romanceable characters, a wide variety of activities to perform outside of story missions, and 30+ skills to learn and master.
As someone who loves Spiritfarer so much that I got a tattoo commemorating it, I’m really looking forward to this one. While the home-building tools are familiar, a lot else stands apart, so it’s an enticing combination of what I’ve seen before next to new experiences.
Aether Wizard Life is due out in Fall 2028 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.
Shellbound
Developed by Fake Lobster
I have a Hollow Knight-obsessed son at home, so I can’t wait to show him Shellbound. This metroidvania resembles the greats like Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest at first glance, but it adds a wrinkle that, to my knowledge, no game in the genre has had before.
The world of Shellbound exists on the back of a godlike snail, with the creature’s organs serving as the explorable map. But the team at Fake Lobster told me they wanted to make a metroidvania that gets away from some of the genre’s normally foundational characteristics, such as backtracking and gated progress.
Using an in-game mechanic called parasitizing, you can absorb the abilities of flora and fauna around you, allowing you to access pretty much any area whenever you want, provided you are willing to adopt the consequences that come with parasitizing.
As you kill more enemies to parasitize them, their class may grow stronger, so by seeking to “break” the world design, which the game fully welcomes, you’ll also be giving yourself more of a challenge. It sounds like a speedrunner’s dream. Giving players the chance to break progression is a fascinating shift in the metroidvania formula that could help shake up the whole genre.
Shellbound is set to arrive in Summer 2028 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.
Contact Protocol
Developed by Cold Zephyr Games
This one was making me sweat. Cold Zephyr’s Contact Protocol is like Papers, Please in space. You play as the captain of a starship interacting with others on the proverbial space superhighway. Some are corporate spies, others are smugglers, others may be totally innocent. What’s universal is a sense of distrust.
Contact Protocol exists in a world of fake news and disinformation. It’s a paranoia-inducing experience in which no one seems to trust each other, and you’ll often need to talk other ships down from blowing you up just because they don’t like how you answered one of their questions. You can destroy ships that prove to be threats, but you can also just annihilate anyone, provided you’re willing to live with the fallout.
The demo I saw was extremely tense and made me feel like the team is well on the right track, complete with an edgy art style that matches its seedy world.
Contact Protocol is launching on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 in Spring 2027.
Crescent County
Developed by Electric Saint
Last but not least in my preview presentation of Kinetic’s debut publishing slate was Crescent County, a game that straps motors to witches’ broomsticks and sets players off in search of flow-state exploration around a vibrant world.
Recently moving to a new town, players take on the role of Lu as she navigates the crescent-shaped island of Mor aboard her motorbroom, delivering packages by day and racing when the sun goes down. The gorgeous world is inspired by the films Kiki’s Delivery Service and Akira, in naturally different but similarly apparent ways.
The gameplay demo I was shown had a beautiful look to it, enhanced by an energetic soundtrack with a punk edge. Putting it aptly and succinctly, the team at Electric Saint describes the game as being about “kissing, drifting, and being a mess in your 20s.”
Crescent County debuts in Summer 2027 on–you guessed it–PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.
This five-pack of games defines Kinetic’s first foray into publishing. Check out their individual Steam pages to see more on each of them.
