Former Little Nightmare Devs Tease Their Creepy New Sci-Fi Game

Section 9 Interactive, a studio composed of former Tarsier Studios devs responsible for the first two Little Nightmares games, has announced today it’s inked a deal with Epic Games Publishing to bring its upcoming game to PC and consoles. The game doesn’t have an announced name yet, but by the looks of it, some of the Little Nightmares aesthetic will carry over into this debut project from the studio.

Despite the creepy enemies and shadowy atmosphere, the studio doesn’t describe the game as horror. Instead, it considers it a “sci-fi action-adventure” game built in Unreal Engine 5. Still, some of the enemies shown in the game’s work-in-progress assets like the one below have a certain “In space, no one can hear you scream” vibe about them. No release window has yet been revealed.

For Epic, this signing follows its most high-profile work yet in Alan Wake 2, which launched last year on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 to universal acclaim. The game originally launched as a digital-only title, but as of a few weeks ago, it now has a physical version available for consoles. Echoing what Remedy had said of its partner, Section 9 said Epic Publishing has “given us incredible support and the freedom to fully explore our creative vision, which is all we can ask for in a publisher.”

Other ongoing Epic Publishing deals include the long-gestating next game from Playdead, the studio behind indie darlings Limbo and Inside, as well as Fumito Ueda’s studio GenDesign. Ueda is best known for his work on Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian.

As for Section 9, it’s not the only studio working on something that captures something like Little Nightmares’ unnerving atmosphere. Tarsier, the series’ original developer, is making Reanimal, while Supermassive has been handed the reins to create the next sequel in the series, Little Nightmares 3.