DON’T NOD announces sci-fi action adventure game Aphelion for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC
Due out in 2026.
DON’T NOD has announced Aphelion, a cinematic science-fiction third-person action adventure game coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store in 2026. It will also be available via Game Pass. The game is being made in collaboration with the European Space Agency.
“Aphelion is a game we’re very passionate about, something we’re really pushing ourselves creatively on,” said creative director Florent Guillaume in a press release. “We’re excited to share more of DON’T NOD’s first human story in space, and to be able to do it in collaboration with the European Space Agency is incredibly exciting and special for us.”
European Space Agency partnership and brand licensing officer Nadia Luders added, “For fifty years, ESA has combined rigorous space science with the boundless imagination of science fiction to explore solutions to our planet’s greatest challenges. Aphelion captures that spirit—where research meets imaginative vision—to inspire the next generation to carry Europe’s space ambition into the future.”
Here is an overview of the game, via DON’T NOD:
About
Stranded on a frozen planet, astronaut Ariane must brave rugged landscapes and shifting realities to rescue her wounded partner, Thomas. This action-packed science-fiction adventure blends exploration, traversal, and tense stealth gameplay.
A Science-Fiction Action Adventure on the Edge of Our Solar System
By 2060, Earth will be uninhabitable. The discovery of a ninth planet—Persephone—at the edge of the solar system, is humanity’s best hope. The European Space Agency is dispatching the Hope 01 scientific mission, consisting of two of their accomplished astronauts, Ariane and Thomas. Their mission: to survey the planet and determine whether humanity can prosper anew here.
Your adventure begins in chaos, as the crash landing of their ship scatters them across the planet, launching them on a desperate quest to find one another.
Aphelion is a cinematic third-person action-adventure set on the planet Persephone, an uncharted, frozen world. Stranded and isolated, you must survive the truly unknown, find each other, and complete the mission. Traverse stunning alien landscapes, avoid lurking threats, and discover the haunting secrets buried beneath the ice.
Explore an Uncharted Planet
Explore the surreal beauty of Persephone, a vast frozen world shaped by deadly weather and ever-changing terrain.
Armed only with your explorational tools—pathfinder, oxygen tank, grappling hook, and more—you must face the unknown, traverse treacherous terrain, and gather clues about the strange, reality-bending phenomenon threatening your existence.
Find Each Other
Helpless on the edge of the solar system, the Hope 01 crew faces a brutal new world and the echoes of a complicated past. Ariane Montclair and Thomas Cross share a deep connection, a relationship left unresolved by the demands of their careers and their mission. Facing overwhelming odds, their fractured bond becomes a lifeline as they grasp in the dark for one another.
Hide to Survive
You’re not alone. Something lurks beneath the ice.
Key Features
- A realistic depiction of space exploration.
- An emotional drama on an alien world.
- Cinematic action-adventure with gripping traversal gameplay.
- Tools-based exploration and survival.
- Tense and exciting stealth-based sequences.
Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.