Supermassive Games, the studio you'll recognize as the team behind games like Until Dawn and The Quarry, has announced the release date for their next narrative-driven horror adventure, Directive 8020. This new sci-fi entry in Supermassive's Dark Pictures anthology will arrive on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S this coming May 12, 2026.
The news was announced with a new release date trailer, which also ushered in the launch of pre-orders going live on both PS5 and Xbox Series. Pre-orders for the game on Steam will go live "soon" according to the video description, so just keep an eye on your Steam notifications if you already have it wishlisted for when those pre-orders are ready.
The trailer dubs Directive 8020 as "a new chapter of horror," while showcasing plenty of gameplay and the difficult decisions you'll be forced to make in Supermassive's latest terrifying adventure. You can check out the new trailer below.
Technically, we first heard about Directive 8020 all the way back in 2022, but that notice came from the public release of a bundle of titles Supermassive had trademarked. It wasn't until 2024 that the game was properly announced, with a release date initially set for 2025.
However, a round of layoffs at Supermassive pushed the game out of its October 2025 release window and into 2026. Thankfully, today's announcement confirms that we didn't have to wait too much longer after it missed its October release, as it is still arriving in the first half of 2026.
The last time we saw Directive 8020 was at Gamescom 2025, where Wccftech's Francesco De Meo got to spend half an hour with the game. In his preview, he highlighted how the addition of real-time threats sets Directive 8020 apart from other games in the Dark Pictures Anthology, and how, alongside its new tier of graphic fidelity and all-star cast, Directive 8020 looks set to "mark a new beginning" for Supermassive's Dark Pictures games. Or, as Supermassive puts it in today's trailer: "a new chapter of horror." You can also now read our exclusive interview with Creative Director Will Doyle, where he confirms that John Carpenter's The Thing was a major inspiration.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
