Kepler Interactive and Frictional Games announce sci-fi mystery thriller ONTOS for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC
Due out in 2026.
Publisher Kepler Interactive and SOMA and Amnesia series developer Frictional Games hvae announced ONTOS, a science-fiction mystery thriller coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store in 2026.
“After more than 10 years of development it is incredibly exciting to finally announce ONTOS,” said Frictional Games creative director and co-founder Thomas Grip in a press release. “This is easily our most ambitious project yet in terms of scope, production values, and sheer thematic ambitions. Where SOMA tackled consciousness, ONTOS aims to do the same thing with the very nature of reality. A lofty goal—yes—and a risky one too. I feel we have managed to create something that does just that though—a game that lets you actively engage with the mysteries of existence headfirst. I am personally dying to see how players react to it.”
Here is an overview of the game, via Kepler Interactive:
About
A science-fiction mystery set on the repurposed moon hotel Samsara. Uncover cryptic experiments, face unsettling encounters, and piece together a mind-bending narrative. The deeper you go, the more the truth unravels as you confront the ultimate question: What is reality?
Story
From the creators of SOMA comes ONTOS, a sci-fi adventure that takes you to the edge of reality. You are Aditi Amani, invited to the repurposed moon hotel Samsara by the cryptic legacy of your estranged father, a brilliant mind-turned-prophet. What begins as a search for answers quickly spirals into something far stranger. Samsara is no ordinary outpost, but a place where reality fractures, where truths are buried beneath layers of deception and obscurity. As you delve deeper, guided by fragments of your father’s past, you must confront disturbing revelations about the nature of existence – and your place in it.
Experiments
ONTOS presents a gauntlet of chilling experiments and disturbing encounters that push the boundaries of both science and morality. Each test invites you to peel back another layer of a world that takes you one step closer to the ultimate truth. Confront existential questions that will make you question the nature of the soul, suffering, and the very fabric of reality itself. These trials are not just puzzles—they are provocations. Your choices echo forward, and you must be prepared to face the consequences. Foresight is paramount, but even what you judge to be the best moral actions can lead to devastating outcomes.
Gameplay
At its core, ONTOS is an immersive narrative with a tactile, systems-driven gameplay experience. Ingenuity and research are your greatest weapons. You’ll scavenge materials, manipulate intricate machinery, and engage with analog systems requiring careful calibration and hands-on interaction. Planning is key, choose wisely or suffer the consequences. There’s no ‘one solution’; instead, the goal is what you can make of a situation.
Exploration
The moon base Samsara is a vast, interconnected labyrinth built atop the ruins of a failed mining colony and an opulent hotel lost to time. Now, it’s a domain carved up by philosophical factions, where science bleeds into faith. Venture through repurposed spaces where the surreal becomes captivating; labs built in lavish casinos and dramatic theatre stages; experiments set up in emptied pools; strange machines built in ancient moon caves, and much more. Every corner of Samsara tells a story, and every story has something hiding beneath the surface, waiting to be found…
Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.