Directive 8020

Directive 8020 is an interactive drama and survival horror game presented from a third-person perspective. Player control switches between the five protagonists, the crew of a colony ship called Cassiopeia. The crew are supposed to survey Tau Ceti f from space in order to gather information for another colony ship that is traveling six months behind. Tau Ceti f is a planet that is 12 light-years from Earth, and has become humanity's last hope because Earth is dying, but the Cassiopeia crash lands onto the Tau Ceti f. The surviving crew members are scattered after being brought out of hypersleep early. The game is divided up into eight episodes that each take around an hour to complete. There are "a handful" of optional objectives based on the branching of the game that can be based on previous decisions or have new consequences if the player undertakes them. In addition to immediate life-or-death choices, Directive 8020 introduces a "Destinies" system. Rather than relying solely on pass/fail action sequences, a character's overarching narrative arc and final fate are influenced by the long-term relationship dynamics they form with other crew members. Directive 8020 features quick time events (QTEs) like the previous games in the series, but it also includes live combat in order to "increase the danger as much as possible". Creative director Will Doyle said the game is not about fighting the aliens, but about evading them with stealth because the player does not have a gun or anything like that to defend themselves. Players must stay quietly in the shadows, avoiding detection. Supermassive calls it "threatening exploration", a mechanic where characters can be killed dynamically outside of scripted story events. Doyle originally pitched this concept during the development of House of Ashes (2021), but the studio's strict annual release schedule prevented the necessary structural changes from being implemented until Directive 8020. Optionally, accessibility options include a "safe" mode that ensures players always survive the stealth sections, but can still die in other ways. The game also features multiple difficulty levels and options for players who want varying experiences. The inventory system consists of tools that are linked to a "multifunctional utility strap" on the wrists of the characters. The strap also contains a shoulder mounted flashlight, with the enemies able to spot the beam when the light is on. Other tools include a scanner that can scan for electronics or be used to spot an alien that is capable of mimicking the appearances of the crew, a "wedge tool" that can be used to open a door as a last resort or to stun an enemy, a text messenger, and a remote control that lets the player hack computers from a distance. Character movement has been reworked to feel "smoother on the sticks" according to Doyle. He also added that the game features "stronger survival horror action adventure elements to the gameplay". The game introduces Turning Points, which is a feature that allows players to rewind to a pivotal moment or decision. Optionally, players can go the traditional Dark Pictures route and play survival mode which prevents rewinding, but still enables players to view the decision trees. Executive producer Dan McDonald said that Turning Points were added due to the new threat in exploration which adds more chances for a character to die and Supermassive felt that could lead to frustration for players who just want to explore. The feature was also implemented to mitigate player frustration regarding the game's mimic enemies. Because a character can secretly be replaced by a mimic for a significant portion of the game without the player realising, the rewind system allows players to undo long-term mistakes that lead to bleak endings. Turning Points do not overwrite progress, so players can continue where they were if they do not like what they did. The Curator does not have a large role in the game, being more in the background despite his connections to the series, with McDonald saying "the Curator's office with all its leather and books and maps didn't mesh as well with Directive 8020 setting." The multiplayer mode "Movie Night" returns from the previous games in the anthology. It accommodates up to five players in couch co-op or for the first time in the series, the mode can be played online. Players can also mix and match between couch co-op and online. The online version will be added as a free update post launch on all platforms. == Synopsis ==

Characters The game's five protagonists are Brianna Young (Lashana Lynch), an astronaut and co-pilot of the colony ship, Cassiopeia; the ship's commander, Nolan Stafford (Danny Sapani); senior mission officer Laura Eisele; medical specialist Samantha Cooper; and technical engineer Josef Cernan. == Development ==

Directive 8020 was originally planned as the fifth instalment in a series of eight games for The Dark Pictures Anthology. However, McDonald confirmed in April 2026 that the studio is no longer strictly adhering to an eight-game cap. The roadmap shifted significantly during development, resulting in Directive 8020 absorbing a second planned space-themed title and merging both concepts into a single, larger game. Directive 8020 was also originally going to be the first game in the anthology's second season, but Supermassive revealed in June 2025 that they were moving away from the season format to focus on the game as a standalone title. The multi-year gap following the first season of the anthology allowed the development team to transition the series to Unreal Engine 5 for a visual upgrade. By de-emphasising the Dark Pictures branding, Supermassive are seeking to "bring The Dark Pictures to a wider audience" according to Doyle. By mid-October 2022, the game was entering production with a lot of data already shot. Unlike the previous games in the series, Supermassive took the time to examine individual systems and then rebuilt some of them from scratch, including the camera which is now fully under player control. With the added stealth elements of the game, character control was updated which made them "smoother than in our previous games" according to Doyle. He also added that these stealth sections were designed to be used sparingly to give players "breathing room" between traditional narrative segments. For the Turning Points flowcharts, McDonald added that the team first decided on who the characters were and the arc they wanted them to go on, then they started to build out the charts. Supermassive used a "storyboard tool" that allowed for quick construction of the charts by adding storyboard images into each node so the team could "sit and play the storyboard through, multiple times, and see the different end states and how characters change from it". The concept for Turning Points was influenced by player data; the studio found that players often abandoned previous games entirely if a favourite character died early on, so the rewind system was implemented to respect players' time. The developers also sought to minimise "plot armour" by ensuring that even early character deaths serve a specific purpose in the story. Because of the game's branching scripts, actors were typically only given a sample of one narrative throughline to prepare, and were often surprised during recording sessions to learn their characters could be killed off in the first act. Story and design 's Lunar Module, Snoopy. The mission of the Cassiopeia is based on Apollo 10, as both missions involved orbiting without landing. Three of the game's protagonists also share surnames with the Apollo 10 crew: Cernan, Stafford, and Young. Directive 8020, like previous entries in the anthology, was designed to be a standalone story, but all of the games are in a shared universe, so Supermassive included easter eggs that refer to other games in the anthology. Doyle described Directive 8020 as "The Thing in deep space", citing further inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror and sci-fi horror films such as Solaris (1972), Alien (1979), Event Horizon (1997), Pandorum (2009), Prometheus (2012), Life (2017), and Sputnik (2020). Expanding on these cinematic influences, McDonald stated that the game's design was also heavily inspired by the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises, specifically regarding the precision required during astronaut operations and the close-knit relationships formed among spacefarers. The game's title is inspired by NASA directive 8020.7G, which was about biological contamination control for outbound and inbound planetary spacecraft. McDonald said Apollo 10, was a "dress rehearsal" for the eventual moon landing, and added that the crew of the Cassiopeia were given a similar order. He further compared Apollo 10 and the Cassiopeia mission in that the Apollo 10 crew were sent just to fly around the moon and then return, and the Cassiopeia crew has similar orders to not land on Tau Ceti f. Doyle stated that much like the rumoured rationale for the Apollo 10 mission, the Cassiopeia was intentionally short-fueled to prevent the crew from being tempted to land, which ultimately leaves them stranded when they crash on the planet. McDonald said the team leaned into body horror with Directive 8020 in order to "conjure up some truly horrible forms" for the Hunter. There are different designs of it throughout the game including when it is half-transformed into a human which McDonald called "really nasty". The design of the Hunter was changed multiple times, with the team taking advantage of the extra time they had between game releases to "iterate and make it as good as it needs to be". Casting (pictured in 2019), who plays Brianna Young, is being marketed as the game's leading actress. Directive 8020 continues the trend of the anthology by casting a recognizable face as the lead character. Doyle said they were lucky to have Lynch and that she brought "incredible power and depth" to the role of Brianna Young. Doyle said the team "pinched themselves" when Lynch was cast, adding "she was already big when we acquired her for this, so we got really lucky. She was brilliant". The team was looking for a talented British actor when they cast Lynch and she was "gracious and game for everything". Danny Sapani plays the captain of the Cassiopeia, Commander Stafford. In an interview with the developers, Lynch recounted her experiences while acting for Directive 8020 and expressed excitement about her role as a pilot in the game: Music (pictured in 2016) reprises his role as composer for The Dark Pictures Anthology. The soundtrack will be composed by Supermassive Games' long-time collaborator Jason Graves, who previously worked on music for the previous games in The Dark Pictures Anthology. Release The game's title was one of six Dark Pictures trademarks listed on the European Union Intellectual Property Office in early 2022. Directive 8020 was first revealed in a post-credits teaser trailer at the end of The Devil in Me, which was released on 18 November 2022. The trailer leaked online the day before The Devil in Me release, revealing the sci-fi setting. On 31 December 2023, a short video teaser for the game was posted to celebrate New Year's Eve. At Gamescom in August 2024, the game was officially announced. In June 2025, the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game was revealed, which includes a Dark Pictures outfit pack, a cosmic visual filters pack, a digital artbook, a digital soundtrack, and an exclusive collectible heirlooms mission. Directive 8020 was originally scheduled to be released on 2 October 2025 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. In July 2025, Supermassive announced a wave of layoffs and that the game was delayed. In February 2026, it was announced that the game would release on 12 May 2026. Pre-ordering the game gives players access to the Deluxe Edition, which contains an outfit pack featuring costumes inspired by previous entries in The Dark Pictures franchise, The Dark Pictures Collectables, which are in-game items to find, the Cinematic Filter Pack, the digital soundtrack, and a digital artbook. == Notes ==