The Expanse is set to return – albeit as an action-RPG set in the same hard sci-fi universe.
However, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X will still serve as a sequel, of sorts, with a new story and cast of characters.
Like many other sci-fi fans, I was devastated when Amazon Prime Video decided to cancel The Expanse – even more so when it truncated the last season to a shorter run. It left me feeling like there was unfinished business.
There have been comic books and a prequel adventure game to sate my appetite, plus the original novels, of course, but I've never given up hope that someone would take The Expanse TV concept and run with it once more.
Sadly, that's still not to be. However, it looks like we're getting the next best thing.
Games development studio Owlcat specialises in RPGs and is currently hard at work creating a full-fledged, all-new action-adventure set in the Expanse universe. It even has "Reborn" in the title.
Announced during Summer Game Fest earlier this month, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and will feature an entirely new story and characters. It will continue the physics-based, hard sci-fi themes of the books and TV series, while also taking inspiration from the likes of Mass Effect and Baldur's Gate 3 – even Japanese RPGS.
Speaking to CNET, Owlcat Games' creative director, Alexander Mishulin said: "I'm not saying we are taking something from, say, Persona 5, but the approach, the idea that characters are front and centre of the story and how they evolve all through the story up until the end is a little bit similar."
Perhaps more excitingly is that Osiris Reborn could be the sequel we've all been waiting for.
"You will be seeing with your own eyes the repercussions of Holden's actions, all the situations like The Canterbury, and how it affects people in the belt, people in the inner planets," Mishulin added.
The developer plans to host gameplay demos during Gamescom in Germany at the end of August, and I for one cannot wait to see how it's shaping up.
And hopefully, Amazon or another major streaming service will be looking on too.
