Exodus is a single-player sci-fi action-adventure RPG from Archetype Entertainment, a studio founded by former BioWare developer James Ohlen under Wizards of the Coast. The game takes place 40,000 years in the future and follows Jun Aslan, a salvager who becomes a Traveler and searches the Centauri Cluster for technology that could save their homeworld.
Quick Summary
- Exodus is a single-player sci-fi action RPG from Archetype Entertainment, a studio founded by former BioWare developers and led by Baldur’s Gate and Knights of the Old Republic veteran James Ohlen.
- The game releases in early 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.
- You play as Jun Aslan, a Traveler searching for advanced Celestial technology that could save their homeworld from the Rot.
- Combat combines third-person shooting, alien abilities, stealth, companions, and exploration, with recovered technology expanding Jun’s weapons and Gauntlet throughout the game.
- Time dilation is central to the story, as Jun can experience days during interstellar travel while years pass for the people left behind, allowing relationships and entire societies to change between missions.
- Choices affect Jun’s Paladin or Immortal alignment, character progression, companion relationships, and story consequences.
Exodus release date and platforms
Exodus releases in early 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Archetype has not announced an exact date, and there is no announced Nintendo Switch 2 version.
Pre-orders are not available yet, and Archetype has not announced the price, editions, pre-order bonuses, or PC system requirements. The game can currently be wishlisted on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games.
What is the story of Exodus?
Exodus takes place around 40,000 years after humanity fled a dying Earth aboard ark ships. Some humans reached the Centauri Cluster thousands of years before later settlers because of time dilation, giving them enough time to evolve into the Celestials, technologically and biologically advanced descendants of humanity who now dominate much of the Cluster.
Jun Aslan begins the game as a salvager on Lidon, a moon threatened by the Rot, a Celestial virus that is pushing its population toward extinction. Jun eventually becomes a Traveler and leaves Lidon to recover Celestial Remnants, advanced technology that could provide a way to stop the Rot and save the people living there.
Archetype has introduced multiple groups and creatures connected to Celestials, including the Crown Celestials, the Mara Yama, and Changelings bioengineered for specific purposes. Ovar, for example, are enormous living transports created by the Celestials that form strong bonds with the people they carry.
Time dilation as a storytelling device
Travelers move close to the speed of light, so Jun experiences far less time during interstellar journeys than the people left behind. A round trip to a system three light-years away would cause six years to pass at home even if Jun experiences only a few days during the journey.
Friends, relatives, and other people who remain behind can consequently age for years or decades while Jun barely changes. Archetype has confirmed that people can live significant portions of their lives or even die while a Traveler is away, and Travelers know roughly how much outside time a planned journey will consume before leaving.
Player choices continue developing during those absences: for example, technologies recovered on an Exodus can change societies over generations, while decisions involving individual characters can have consequences that Jun only discovers after returning home years later.
It’s unknown just how much this will come into play story- and gameplay-wise until we experience this firsthand.
Exodus gameplay and combat
Exodus uses third-person real-time combat with guns and alien technology, and there are also stealth segments, while combat is enhanced by companion abilities. Jun faces human factions, Celestial forces, and other creatures while recovering technology that expands the abilities available in later missions.
The Recycler is a weapon that switches between different firing configurations:
- Repeater provides sustained mid-range fire.
- Shredder handles close-range combat.
- Piercer provides longer-range precision attacks.
- Bomber launches grenades.
- Specter supports precision kills while using stealth.
More Recycler modes are planned beyond those shown so far.
Jun’s Gauntlet also gains abilities from recovered alien technology:
- Eruption can launch enemies and manipulate livestone in the environment.
- Lance provides a piercing attack and removes growth created by the Rot.
- Precognition marks enemy locations.
- Scramble Cloak supports stealth.
- Sonic Lure draws enemies toward a selected position.
Jun can also manipulate parts of the environment with the Gauntlet, including creating bridges, clearing blocked passages, and redirecting hazards while moving through Celestial ruins.
Paladin and Immortal choices affect Jun’s abilities
Jun develops toward either a Paladin or Immortal alignment through decisions made during the story, reminiscent of Paragon and Renegade from Mass Effect. Paladin choices prioritize other people even when Jun personally loses something, while Immortal choices prioritize ambition, power, and opportunities that further Jun’s own goals.
The alignment affects character progression as well as dialogue: Paladin and Immortal determine which abilities Jun can upgrade and how those abilities develop, although Archetype has also confirmed that many decisions are morally ambiguous rather than simple choices between the two extremes.
One sequence shown in the extended gameplay presentation puts Jun between Tom and Elise during an emergency. Elise wants to open an airlock that would kill hostile forces, while Tom warns that civilians might still be trapped with them, and Jun’s decision affects how the companions respond.
Jun Aslan is a defined character with customization options
Players can choose a male or female Jun, but Exodus does not use a full slider-based character creator. Archetype decided during development to give Jun a more established appearance while retaining options for hairstyles, facial hair, hair color, eye color, makeup, and tattoos.
Jun’s equipment, abilities, morality alignment, and decisions provide additional customization during the game. Archetype has shown both versions of Jun in footage, with the female version receiving her first brief appearance during the June extended gameplay presentation.
Who are the companions in Exodus?
- Tom Vargas is a former Traveler who returned to Lidon and became a salvager after losing his wife. He tends to take a more cautious approach to decisions and frequently pushes Jun to consider the consequences for other people.
- Elise Charroux is a Sleeper from 23rd-century Earth who has worked as a mercenary, weapons expert, gang member, and salvager. She fights alongside Jun using a combat mech and generally favors more direct solutions.
- Phaedra Nath is a xeno-archaeologist from the Nath Traveler dynasty who was infected with a Celestial virus from birth. The infection left her blind and is gradually crystallizing her skin, while autonomous drones help her navigate and study Celestial technology.
- Salt is an Awakened octopus mercenary and bounty hunter who pilots a specialized combat mech. He focuses on sniping, mobility, evasion, and ink-like smokescreens that can disrupt enemies during fights.
- Houston is an Awakened wolf and one of the companions who can join Jun during the story, and that’s all we know about him.
- Suliman is another confirmed combat companion who we know almost nothing about.
- C.C. Orlev is a legendary figure within the setting and is voiced by Matthew McConaughey. He disappeared before the events of the game, and his history, motives, and eventual connection to Jun remain part of the story’s mysteries.
- Emrys is another character connected to Jun’s journey, but Archetype has also deliberately withheld most information about him so far.
Does Exodus have romance?
Romance is part of Exodus’ companion system, with Archetype planning a dedicated presentation covering companions and romantic relationships before release. The studio has not revealed which characters are romance options, how many romances exist, or whether individual relationships depend on the male or female version of Jun.
Who is developing Exodus?
Exodus is being made by Archetype Entertainment, an Austin studio under Wizards of the Coast. The team is led by James Ohlen, who spent years at BioWare working on games like Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age: Origins, so there is a pretty obvious old-school BioWare pedigree behind the project.
Drew Karpyshyn is handling the narrative side and brings his own Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic legacy with him. Archetype also brought in sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton as a creative consultant on the wider Exodus universe, and he has already written novels set in the same setting.
Exodus books, a TV episode, and a tabletop RPG
Exodus already has a surprisingly large amount of material outside the game. The aforementioned sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton wrote two novels set in the same universe, The Archimedes Engine and The Helium Sea. They follow a character named Finn and the Crown Dominion, with The Helium Sea releasing on June 16, 2026 and wrapping up that two-book story.
There’s also Exodus: Odyssey, an episode of Prime Video’s Secret Level anthology that tells another standalone story in the setting. On top of that, the universe has its own tabletop RPG through the Traveler’s Handbook and Creature Catalog, with Chronicles of Melayu coming in October 2026 and expanding the setting into the Hylase star system.
None of this is required reading before playing Exodus, as the books, TV episode, and tabletop material are there only to flesh out the wider universe.
Price, editions, and PC requirements
Exodus still doesn’t have a confirmed price, editions, pre-order bonuses, or PC requirements, and pre-orders also haven’t opened yet. As for the release date, Archetype is only committing to an early 2027 window for now.
We also haven’t seen the last of the pre-release deep dives. Archetype still plans to show more of the game, some of it confirmed for gamescom, while more also surely coming during The Game Awards 2026 in December.
FAQs
When does Exodus come out?
Exodus releases in early 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Archetype has not announced an exact release date.
Is Exodus a multiplayer game?
No. Exodus is a single-player, third-person sci-fi action-adventure RPG. No multiplayer or co-op mode has been announced.
Can you create your own character in Exodus?
Players choose between male and female versions of Jun and can customize hairstyles, facial hair, hair and eye colors, makeup, and tattoos. Exodus does not have a full character creator, and Jun retains an established face and identity.
