When is the Exodus release date? If I had a nickel for every time Matthew McConaughey embarked on an interstellar journey afflicted by time dilation, I would have two nickels. Exodus is the inaugural game from Archetype Entertainment, comprised of industry veterans across notable AAA studios such as Bioware, Naughty Dog, and 343 Industries. The studio is also helmed by James Ohlen, venerable lead designer on Dragon Age: Origins, Knights of the Old Republic, and more. Suffice it to say, Exodus’ design pedigree is certainly promising.
The Exodus release date is set to deliver an original sci-fi universe that’s shaping up to resemble Mass Effect more than games like Starfield. Choice is the driving force behind its non-linear story, which sends us across time and space to secure humanity’s future among the stars. The upcoming RPG could well be one of the best PC games of its release year – but which year, exactly? Here’s all the latest surrounding the release date, including news, gameplay trailers, and story details to keep you up to speed.
Exodus release date estimate
We expect the Exodus release date to fall sometime in 2026 at the very earliest. Our forecast is determined by the contents of the official announcement trailer, which includes ‘pre-alpha’ gameplay footage. This indicates the project is still in the early stages of development and not yet feature-complete.
Exodus is set to arrive on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Given how early it is in development, it’s currently unclear which digital storefronts Exodus is due to appear on at release. However, given that Archetype Entertainment is an internal development studio from Wizards of the Coast, it’s unlikely to be an Epic Games Store exclusive.
You can also opt into the Founders Program on the Exodus official website for a limited time to earn free in-game rewards. Becoming a Founder allows prospective players the chance to claim the Founder’s Exodus Aegis Space Suit, as well as the corresponding Founder’s Patch. Furthermore, you can refer three or more friends to receive the Traveler’s Cloak.
Exodus trailers
We caught our first glimpse of Exodus at The Game Awards 2023, which included an official announcement trailer introduced by Matthew McConaughey. The bulk of the trailer is a cinematic dedicated to establishing the story, culminating in a brief snippet of pre-alpha gameplay set to Muse’s Supermassive Black Hole.
Exodus story
Alright, alright, alright, let’s get into it. The ‘Become the Traveler’ cinematic trailer serves as our first official introduction to Maxine Trent and Tom Vargas, a pair of astronauts who stumble upon an interstellar ship capable of reaching lightspeed when traveling through warp gates. In a last-ditch effort to save a dying Earth, Max and Tom strike out into the far reaches of space to retrieve esoteric artifacts that may hold the key to Earth’s plight.
However, their pursuit is cut short by the arrival of the Celestials, humanity’s “greatest enemy”. A fraught encounter leaves them separated, as Tom draws the Celestials away from Max’s position and through a warp gate in an attempt to save her life. A lifetime later, Tom returns to Earth to lead the Travelers. That’s where we come in.
Exodus takes Star Trek’s classic philosophical adage – ‘the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ – then adds Matthew McConaughey and gives it a timey-wimey twist. Sacrifice is the running theme, as we’re forced to reckon with the consequences of making choices and then jetting off through warp gates, in which days for us are decades for those we leave behind.
Exodus gameplay
Exodus may sound cerebral, but the actual moment-to-moment gameplay experience is a third-person shooter in which we must explore otherworldly environments, sneak past military forces, and lay down some serious alien firepower against the Celestials poised to stop us. Along the way, we can expect to encounter an array of alien cultures and infiltrate Celestial strongholds to retrieve their technological remnants, which we can then harness for our own purposes.
That said, we expect time dilation to emerge as the central mechanic, which will impact the decisions we make for “generations” – and while it’s currently unclear what that means, we’d hazard a guess that we’re going to be seeing Tom and Max’s descendants sooner than anticipated. Ohlen confirms that Exodus is “definitely not linear” – not only will player choices determine the course of the story, but there’s also the “freedom to explore this new universe”, hinting that Exodus is an open-world game.
Thankfully, we won’t be going it alone. Exodus includes a diverse pool of companions to recruit and bring along on our interstellar journey. Executive producer Chad Robertson confirmed that Matthew McConaughey’s character would play “a mentorship role”, and McConaughey assured attendees at The Game Awards 2023 that his character “will have a unique relationship with every player” – presumably as a result of the choices we make. We’ll also be regularly conferring with humanity’s leaders to discover how our decisions have influenced humanity.
That’s everything we know about the Exodus release date thus far. If you’re in the mood to get lost among the stars, the best space games are sure to whet your whistle. We’ve also got some top-notch original story games to lose yourself in, as well as a collection of the best Star Wars games if you’d prefer to stick with sci-fi that’s more familiar until Exodus arrives.