Replaced was developed by Sad Cat Studios. It is the debut project for the studio, whose three founders only previously worked on mobile games. The initial goal for the studio was to make a
cinematic platformer similar to
Flashback and
Another World, though they eventually decided to add a combat system to the game as they did not have a budget to create a solely "visual experience where [players] go from point A to point B". The platforming gameplay were inspired by
Inside,
Uncharted, and the
Prince of Persia games released in the 2000s, whereas the combat system was inspired by
Batman: Arkham. A lot of time was spent in creating the platforming animations of the protagonist, as the team wanted the game to look realistic. According to Igor Gritsay, the co-founder of the studio, the game's story was about the "survival of a creature that knows nothing about the ruthless world it finds itself in". The
cyberpunk theme was inspired by films such as
Upgrade and
Blade Runner 2049, though the team focused mainly on US culture and deemphasized the role Asian cultures typically play in cyberpunk fiction. While creating its setting, a retrofuturistic theme was chosen as the team loved old science-fiction films and wanted to explore how people in the past imagined about the future. Announced at
E3 2021, the game was initially slated to be released in 2022, though it was delayed multiple times. Sad Cat Studios was originally based in
Minsk,
Belarus, though the
Russo-Ukrainian War significantly impacted the game's production and prompted the studio to relocate to
Cyprus. The game was released for
Windows and
Xbox Series X/S on April 14, 2026.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamereactor.eu/replaced-pushes-release-date-back-to-spring-2026-1590623/|title=Replaced pushes release date back to Spring 2026 ==Reception==