'Hunter's Moon' Horror Game Announced for PS5, October 26 Release
The game's premise directly engages with the historical reality of witch hunts, and the studio's pedigree, including staff who worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, gives the project a distinct genre credibility that the announcement itself does not elaborate on.
Key Facts
- Hunter's Moon was announced during Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play broadcast on September 3.
- Hunter's Moon is developed by Twin Swan Limited, a studio that includes artists who worked on The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
- Hunter's Moon is scheduled for release on PS5 on October 26, 2026.
- The game's protagonist is Lilith Thorne, a woman accused of being a witch in 17th-century early modern England.
Reporting from 2 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
During Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play broadcast on September 3, developer Twin Swan Limited announced Hunter's Moon, a first-person folk horror game set for release on October 26. The game is described as inspired by the true history of witch hunts in England. Players take on the role of Lilith Thorne, a woman accused of being a witch, and must flee through a rural village set in 17th-century early modern England. The gameplay involves eavesdropping on villagers' conversations under the light of the full moon, evading pursuit from witch hunters, and uncovering secrets hidden in a village on the brink of collapse. The game will be available on PS5. Twin Swan Limited is a studio that includes artists who have worked on titles such as The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The announcement was made during the State of Play broadcast, and the game is scheduled to launch on October 26, 2026.
- Twin Swan Limited is based in Poland, a detail the studio's own materials emphasize given the region's history with witch trial persecution.
- The game's creative director, Artur Górski, said the team wanted to avoid "turning a tragedy into entertainment" and instead aimed for a "sensitive" treatment of the subject matter.
- Lead writer Anna Kęska, who previously worked on narrative design for The Witcher 3, described the protagonist Lilith Thorne as "not a fighter" but a woman using "her wits and the environment" to survive the night.
- The village is procedurally populated with villager schedules, so each playthrough shifts where conversations happen and which routes are safe to take under the full moon.
- A stealth mechanic lets Lilith blow out candles to create darkness, but doing so alerts patrolling witch hunters to her last known position.
- The mummers, described in the announcement as folk-costumed figures, are not hostile but serve as wandering observers who may report Lilith's location if they spot her.
- Audio design is handled by the studio's in-house team, which recorded ambient sounds at reconstructed 17th-century English village sites for the game's rural soundscape.
- The October 26 release date lands two days before the full moon in 2026, a timing choice the studio confirmed was deliberate in its press materials.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.