The debut game from legendary RPG creator James Ohlen’s new studio is a next-generation, story-driven RPG that marries cinematic storytelling with deep emotional impact featuring broad player agency and modern AAA gameplay. The story is fueled by the consequences of player choices due to the impact of Time Dilation, and how they change the lives of those we love most. 

In Exodus, humanity has fled a dying Earth, finding a new home in a hostile galaxy – here, we are the underdogs fighting for survival. As The Traveler, you are humanity’s last hope. Your job is to steal alien weapons and technology from the most powerful beings in the universe, the Celestials – humanity’s greatest enemy. But there’s a catch - Time Dilation. As Travelers on interstellar missions, days for you are decades back home. The sacrifices you make to protect your loved ones create unpredictable consequences that change your world -- reshaping the future. Returning home, you confront the consequences of your choices. In Exodus, the outcome of those choices manifests at a massive level, compounding over generations. 

Archetype Entertainment has released a new story for Exodus which details the Archimedes Engine, a highly advanced technology that stabilizes orbits, controls atmospheres, terraforms land and more to make planets habitable. After stabilizing said planets, these machines continue to constantly maintain a wide variety of environmental factors that guarantee the living conditions of thousands of planets… but what happens when these Engines begin to fail? 

The Travelers are tasked with a near-impossible mission: Learn how to repair these life-saving machines, as their original creators have been lost to time thousands of years ago.

PS - The term Archimedes Engine may sound familiar, as Peter F. Hamilton’s upcoming book Archimedes Engine is set to release next week on Tuesday, September 17. The novel is set 40,000 years before the events of Exodus, featuring a story unique from what players will experience in-game.

ARCHIMEDES ENGINE – THE POWER TO SAVE WORLDS

Humanity’s long and arduous journey to the Centauri Cluster began 40,000 years ago. Fleeing a dying Earth, they set out in search of habitable planets and a new beginning.

Upon arrival in Centauri, they discovered dozens of densely packed star systems teeming with “Eden Worlds”, brimming with life. These planets became the heart of the interstellar civilization, the foundation from which the entire Cluster would eventually evolve. As the first human settlements took root, they faced immeasurable challenges in this new universe. Slowly, they transformed over thousands of years, diverging from what we once knew as “humanity” into the earliest Celestial Dominions – powerful, alien beings with abilities and intelligence far beyond our understanding.

As the Dominions of the first wave continued to expand their territory and arkships continued to arrive, competition for Eden Worlds grew fierce. The wars that followed were cataclysmic, fought with weapons so powerful that they sometimes devastated the very planets they sought to claim. Entire worlds were reduced to ashes in the pursuit of dominance, until finally they brought the Cluster to the brink of annihilation.

In the aftermath of the brutal Formation Wars, during what became known as the Remnant Era, a technological marvel emerged: the Archimedes Engine. This incredible invention reshaped the very architecture of the galaxy, by enabling the movement of entire planets within a star system, repositioning them into life-sustaining “Goldilocks” habitable zones. The Engine stabilized orbits, controlled atmospheres, and terraformed barren worlds into new Eden Worlds. The Archimedes Engine fueled a population explosion across the Cluster. Where once there were dozens of habitable worlds, now there were thousands. The Celestial Dominions expanded their empires, creating vast networks of colony worlds. Later waves of human arkships, arriving after the wars, found untouched Eden Worlds waiting for them. As they acclimated to this thriving but volatile region of space, they had to adapt and evolve like their Celestial overlords… or risk extinction.

But the miracle of the Archimedes Engine was not without its flaws. Nothing lasts forever, and when one of these ancient machines begins to fail – usually after thousands of years – the consequences are catastrophic. A world supported by a failing Engine can spiral into an uninhabitable hellscape within a single generation. Entire civilizations – cities, towns, millions of lives – can be wiped out almost overnight. Due to the incredible complexity of their design, repairing a failing Archimedes Engine is nearly impossible. The Celestial civilization that created them went extinct ten thousand years ago, taking much of their knowledge with them. Now, when a world begins to die, its inhabitants have only one choice: struggle to survive as conditions worsen, before finally abandoning their home and becoming refugees in a cold and unforgiving galaxy.

This extraordinary planet-moving relic still powers numerous celestial bodies in their current orbits – including our own homeworld of Lidon – a moon precisely positioned in close proximity to the gas giant Galarus in the Malakbel system. However, the unthinkable is happening. A technological virus known as “The Rot” is slowly degrading all our advanced technology, including the critical machines we depend on for survival. Even the Planetary Engines, which were once our lifeblood, are beginning to fail, threatening the future of everything that we’ve built and everyone we hold dear. Seeing the impending disaster, legendary Travelers - like Orion Aslan - embarked on Exodus missions to save Lidon. The solution, though obvious, seemed impossible: repair the Engines.

Now, as Jun Aslan and Orion’s heir, you stand as the culmination of a decades-long dynastic effort to save our world. You are Lidon’s last hope, a lone spark in the darkness of a dying planet. But the journey ahead is fraught with peril. Enemies from all sides, driven by their own desires and fears, are determined to thwart your mission to secure humanity’s salvation.

Traveler, the fate of Lidon depends on you. Can you overcome the challenges you face, unlock the secrets of the Archimedes Engine, and save our home? Or is our planet doomed to repeat the tragic errors of Earth, becoming just another casualty in the long and brutal history of the Centauri Cluster? With the power to shape worlds in your hands, what path will you take?

Key Features:

• Experience the Emotional Impact of Time Dilation - Time Dilation escalates the emotional impact of your story-driven choices like never before. Traveling on interstellar missions at the edge of lightspeed, time moves differently — days for you can be years, decades or even centuries for those back home. The world you fight so hard to save moves on without you, changing and evolving while you are left behind. In your absence, friends and family will grow old and change, while you remain the same, forcing you to exist outside of time.
• Explore A Universe of Possibilites - As the Traveler, you navigate the stars on missions to steal alien weapons and technology from the most powerful beings in the universe and humanity’s greatest enemy, the Celestials. These remnants are used to fight a destructive force that threatens the entire galaxy, including your homeworld. Through exploration, you gain an understanding of your universe, the Celestials, and how you are connected to the fate of humanity.
• Lead A Diverse Cast of Companions - As humanity's savior you will lead a diverse set of companions in your fight for humanity, many of whom have their own quest and romance paths. Willing to brave unfathomable danger, and to stare into the abyss at your side, they are ready to join you in facing whatever arises. These are not just brave soldiers – they are genetically engineered savants, punk mech pilots, geniuses cursed with alien viruses and more.
• Own Your Journey – In EXODUS, you have the agency to customize your experience, from your character to your progression, combat style and the companions you choose. With each mission you grow more powerful as you progress from a lowly salvager to humanity’s last hope. As you infiltrate dangerous alien strongholds, you’ll need to decide which combat tactics and strategies you’ll use to exploit your enemy’s weakness.

Fans interested in joining by becoming Founders can sign up now to earn exclusive in-game items.

Exodus is in development for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.