You may have heard of Kinetic Games through our horror title, Phasmophobia. It’s sold over 27 million copies, and thanks to this success, in January of this year we established our very own publishing label, Kinetic Publishing. Our aim at Kinetic Publishing is to support and empower indie devs to create incredible games, giving them the level of support that our founder, Daniel Knight, would have benefitted from when he was first creating Phasmophobia.
Today we debuted our Kinetic Publishing showcase, where we got to reveal the first five games we’ll be publishing throughout 2027 and 2028. These dev teams all have unique, inspiring stories and just as equally exciting games. From a true sci-fi horror to a witch-tech delivery adventure, and everything in between, we’ve curated a selection of games we hope players are going to love, and of course, they will all be available on PlayStation 5.
Contact Protocol
Can you make the right decisions under pressure? That’s the question the team behind Contact Protocol wants the answer to. In this sci-fi starship job simulator, you are tasked with the scourge that is corporate admin as you assess the intentions of incoming ships on the Pale Horse’s voyage to Jupiter’s largest moon. Compare incoming information against company records and do your best to determine whether ships are friend or foe. But make the wrong decision and all it takes is one torpedo to guarantee your safety – while sending the other crew to their death in the vacuum of space.
In Contact Protocol, players’ cognitive load is gradually ramped up while being offered near-impossible decisions, and we found the combination of this stressful gameplay combined with allocated downtime and the incredible yet somewhat unsettling art style, to be something really special. It’s high stakes, it’s intense, but it’ll leave you coming back for more, as players will soon find out when Contact Protocol launches on PlayStation 5 in Spring 2027.
Crescent County
Crescent County is a game that sings with sunset-soaked, dreamy graphics from the mind of creative director and illustrator, Anna Hollinrake. Based on her own lived experience moving to the Isle of Wight, players will discover what it means to find home on this magical crescent isle. From crunchy, flow-state motorbroom driving, to messy, gossip-fuelled local drama and flirty relationships, Crescent County aims to offer the experience of Kiki’s Delivery Service meets the bikes of Akira set on a rural, witch-tech island.
We couldn’t deny how much we loved the gorgeous, painterly world of Crescent County, a down-to-earth passion project that oozes good vibes. Celebrating queerness, found-family and community in a way we couldn’t ignore, get ready to lose yourself in the beauty of Crescent County when it comes to PlayStation 5 in Summer 2027.
Shellbound
Shellbound has taken the best bits of a metroidvania and set them on a ‘big ass snail’. Giving real meaning to the phrase ‘living world’, players take on the role of a parasite exploring an environment where organs are labyrinths and the snail’s very biology can reshape the paths available to them. The combination of combat and platforming provides the much-loved metroidvania challenge, proving simple to learn but satisfyingly difficult to master.
But Shellbound is pushing the limits of the genre, giving players parasitic powers that allow them to take control of enemies and NPCs and each creature offering unique movement, combat, and traversal skills. Harnessing these abilities is the key to reaching hidden areas, unlocking new routes, and defeating powerful bosses – which players will learn when Shellbound launches on PlayStation 5 in Summer 2028.
Aether Wizard Life
The creativity and ambition of the team at Vonder Games is truly something to behold, as they combine town-building, platforming and exploration with action-RPG combat, farming, and dating in Aether Wizard Life. Players take on the role of an apprentice mage in the haunted town of Starfall, and must uncover the secrets of mysterious wizard kidnappings. Along the way, you are free to choose what tasks to take on each day, whether that’s growing magical crops, caring for exotic creatures, venturing into deep and twisting dungeons to fight monsters, or talking with the townsfolk to discover new side quests and problems to solve.
From the Ghibli-inspired art style, to the story behind the town’s mystery taking inspiration from the fascinating, real history of witches – we were captivated by the team’s attention to detail in Aether Wizard Life. This new cozy wizard life sim launches on Playstation 5 in Autumn 2028.
Precognition
We are beyond excited to announce that we will be partnering with Half Mermaid Productions on their newest game, Precognition. Originally teased under the name ‘Project C’, Precognition is a sci-fi horror being created by Immortality and Her Story creator Sam Barlow in collaboration with acclaimed horror director Brandon Cronenberg. At Kinetic, we’ve played (and gotten hooked on) Sam’s previous FMS games like Immortality and Her Story, and jumped at the chance to work with such a talented team.
Of course, Kinetic is best known for its own horror title, so we’re very happy to have an equally thrilling game in our publishing lineup. And Precognition aims to go one step further than Sam’s previous games, giving players a real sense of agency and freedom in choosing where the story goes. Be sure to interrogate the smallest of details, and get ready to face the consequences that await when you meddle with the flow of time, when Precognition launches on PlayStation 5 in Spring 2028.
