We’re living in something of a horror game renaissance as of late. Besides all the great games that have come out already, there are tons of upcoming video games like Directive 8020 and Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic that promise even more sleepless nights. Bloober Team has a long history with the horror genre, most recently delivering one of the best video game remakes with Silent Hill 2. The team’s next project isn’t another remake, but a new IP set in a new survival horror setting. Called Cronos: New Dawn, this next project shares a lot of similarities with games like Dead Space, but can it live up to the new standards the studio has set for itself? Let’s see what we can discover about Cronos: New Dawn.
If you want to see the full lineup of games coming out, check out all the upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, and upcoming PC games.
Release window
Cronos: New Dawn doesn’t have a specific release date just yet. All we know is that the game is targeting a 2025 release, and would estimate that it won’t be until fall or winter. However, it is always possible that the game will be delayed into 2026.
Platforms
Cronos: New Dawn is confirmed to be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. There are no plans for last-gen versions or a Switch port, but there’s always a chance it could come to the Switch 2 later down the line.
Trailers
We got our first look at Cronos: New Dawn with its reveal trailer in October 2024. This trailer was mostly cinematic with only a small piece of gameplay and featured our mysterious protagonist in what looks like a space suit exploring a dark house while cutting to them playing a game of chess with an elderly woman in warm light. They are attacked and fire a pistol at a disfigured humanoid monster as furniture floats around the rooms. After crippling it, the gun reforms itself into brass knuckles and he strikes the beast.
Back in the other time/place, the Traveler wins the chess game and unfurls long metallic fingers he reaches toward the woman. We don’t see what happens next, but it doesn’t sound good.
The trailer ends with a visually striking image of a tower with the middle sections exploded out, but still standing defying gravity.
Our next trailer is a deep dive with the development team shown at the Future Games Show. This is where we learned that our player, the Traveler, has somehow gone back in time to explore post-apocalyptic Poland in the 1980s. This is the time period we see, but Bloober states that time jumping will be a core component of the story.
The Traveler’s objective is to go back in time and save people from said apocalypse called The Change, though the cause of that is still unknown. In fact, Bloober is keeping almost all other details of the plot secret for the moment.
Gameplay
While we haven’t seen a ton, we do know some details about how Cronos: New Dawn will play. It is a third-person survival horror game, as you can see, with plenty of eerie and dark environments to explore. The main method of combat is firearms, which we see include pistols, rifles, and something a bit like a flamethrower. The team has confirmed melee combat is included, as well as a different form of a dismemberment system somewhat like Dead Space.
It is implied that the Traveler is not exactly a tank and will die very quickly if you don’t proceed cautiously and make the most out of your limited resources.
Preorder
Without a release date, the only thing you can do is wishlist Cronos: New Dawn for now. Once we know when the game is coming and all the preorder details, we will update this article.
