Exodus‘ journey so far has been quite transparent, with publisher Wizards of the Coast and developer Archetype Entertainment giving us a surprising number of updates and looks at the sci-fi action RPG over the years. Now, at Gamescom 2026, they’ve finally given us the release date and a striking hands-on demo.
I was able to play a 50-minute demo that takes protagonist Jun Aslan (who you can customize Commander Shepard-style) and their companions to Khonsu, a huge orbital space platform above the world of Lidon, where a population of Awakened frogs – genetically modified animals that are natural to this universe – are keeping more than a few critical systems in working order. I won’t get into story spoilers here, but their connection to Lidon’s people makes them valuable allies who must be protected from certain evildoers…
For the most part, Exodus plays exactly like you think it does after looking at the gameplay videos, and I mean that as a compliment. In many ways, it feels like an evolution of Mass Effect – one that’s fiercer and more dynamic. The gunplay is punchy and satisfying; Jun and their NPC companions are more agile; and the arsenal of both sci-fi weapons and ancient powers (magic in a sci-fi trench coat) gives players a richer selection of tools to neutralize enemies with.
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On top of my hands-on time with the game, I was able to sit down and chat with three members of the development team: Chad Robertson (producer), Chris King (director), and Drew Karpyshyn (writer). If those names sound familiar, it’s because they all come from a BioWare background*, so they know their way around sprawling space operas.
*Archetype houses more triple-A talent from other iconic studios like Naughty Dog
The following interview has been edited for better flow.
“One of the tenets was that we wanted to be developing an IP that could stand the test of time, and we needed something in the science fiction space for the benefit of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. They’re very interested in developing an IP that could be owned and be science fiction,” Robertson said of the project’s beginnings years ago.
Archetype was founded in 2019, so Exodus has been brewing and evolving for quite some time. The backing of Hasbro and Wizards could be felt throughout the whole demo; Exodus is an expensive game with a stunning visual look.
“We’ve been able to stick with that without having to worry about money and financing and being able to execute on that vision,” Robertson added. This also extends to how all the exploration and combat feel even at this stage. While the demo wasn’t ready for the public yet, it was a compelling vertical slice with most of the systems and assets in pretty good shape.
The more you dig into Exodus’ universe-building, the bolder it becomes, throwing concepts like the Awakened or time dilation into the mix. Still, it’s very much a game ideated by BioWare veterans.
“It’s sort of natural that we ended up with an RPG set in an epic sci-fi universe with strong player agency and heavy companion content… Yeah, I could’ve guessed that’s where we would end up,” said Karpyshyn. While the KOTOR and Mass Effect veteran led on the narrative front, sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton added to the “core” of the universe and wrote two big sequel novels that also serve as our first proper step into Exodus’ universe.
“He was very collaborative, but we also wanted to give him a free hand to tell the story he wanted to tell. So he took the elements that he was most interested in and expanded on them, and that allowed us to take some of the ideas and bring them into the game,” Karpyshyn explained. Plenty of time (roughly 40,000 years) and space (it’s set in the Omega Centauri cluster) separate Exodus from being a look at humanity’s immediate future, so Archetype is looking at the universe as a place “that will tell many different stories” over time.
Well ahead of the game’s launch, Wizards of the Coast is betting big on the IP, with tabletop adventures, novels, and a Secret Level short introducing RPG fanatics to its universe. How do you rein all that ambition in when working on a huge video game? According to Robertson, setting reasonable limits happened naturally: “We wanted to build a player experience that was cohesive and complete enough. Over the course of the first couple of years, I think we kinda naturally figured it out.” He admitted there’s “plenty of other stories” they want to tell, though.
A highlight of the demo was how fluid the tone in Exodus seems. It’s playful — and often comedic — but never too much, and even as a separate, isolated chunk of the game, it presents high stakes and dilemmas I personally cared about. Again, it reminded me of Mass Effect at its best – especially the second one. I was impressed by how grounded it all felt despite heavily featuring a bunch of talking frogs and an armored bear who was also insulting me during a boss fight.
King mentioned the Awakened are “a really interesting example”, as it’s a concept that pushed them to explore “different ways to present them and what the tone would be”. In fact, he revealed they made them “a bit too serious” early on (some of that can even be felt in the earlier lore videos on them). Eventually, the team found a balance between Jun’s progression, which “has a lot of heavy, even dark themes”, and other elements and characters that you run into. “They’re meant to provide a counterbalance to that. You do have lighthearted moments.”
Inevitably, I had to ask about the matter of romances, and that human emotion we call love. Many players show up for these RPGs looking for hilarious, dramatic, and spicy romantic relationships.
The first thing Karpyshyn did was shoot down the possibility of a Salt (the combat mech-piloting octopus) romance: “Salt isn’t really into humans. She thinks they’re kind of gross. But there are many other romances. You can play as male or female Jun, and we don’t lock any of the romances out based on gender choice. But you do have to pursue and work for them. They’re not gonna happen by accident.”
His reply then led to some brief talk about the tension between Jun and the members of the crew: “All your companions have their own goals, wants, and needs. They don’t get along with each other always. We’re constantly putting you into these conflict situations where you have to decide how to navigate… As a player, you have to decide, ‘Do I want to risk annoying the romance character?’ and maybe the romance ends… Life is messy, and we wanted the game to be messy and complicated.”
Indeed, the hands-on preview mission ended with a heavy choice that no doubt would have major consequences down the line. Even if my save game meant nothing at this stage, I was still conflicted, and the developers mentioned it was interesting to finally get this game in front of people outside the studio and see their reactions to certain story beats.
On that front, I also had to ask the trio about the voice acting (some voices were really familiar) and the music in the game, which are totally top-notch. “I’m tempted to ask which ones you recognize,” Robertson said before stating they’re not ready to elaborate on those yet. “The marketing team would shoot us in the head.”
During our chat, the team wanted to get some quick feedback on a specific zero-gravity section — shooting and platforming are involved — which they described as “revelatory” after getting the sound FX right. I agree with them. Whereas many space walks in video games feel too fantasy-like or realistic to be truly exciting, Exodus appears to find a fine balance between the space opera spectacle we’re showing up for and the harsh coldness of the void out there. There are certain sound FX still giving you feedback, but muffled shootouts are refreshingly scary.
When asked about customization options and character build – as in abilities and skills – possibilities, King answered that “philosophically, what we want to do is give players interesting choices and figure out what they like playing the most”.
It’s not a hard class system like in the original Mass Effect games. “We let you sort of express and figure out what you like in the skill tree… Layered on top of that, there are mastery levels on classes, and then depending on your choices, it unlocks hybrid trees,” explains King.
Combined with the many types of guns and suits available — each with different firing modes and upgrades — it all creates a familiar yet deeper progression structure.
Speaking about the game as a whole and what he’s particularly proud of, King circled back to “player agency” and what he calls “water cooler moments”, as you can discuss with friends at work or online what your and their choices were and what happened. At least, that’s what the team hopes will happen with some of the story beats.
Robertson added to his answer: “The first time we had enough pieces together… and you could feel the music and cinematics coming together, and the emotional weight behind it, that’s what these games are about. Where you have that angst over a decision and feel the anxiety of what just happened. ‘I should have chosen something different.’ I think we’re super proud of those. There’s a bunch of moments in the game like that.” At this point, I can already see what the team means, which is why I sincerely believe there might be something special to Exodus.
Exodus is releasing on PC (Steam & Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on April 7, 2027.
