Driven by a seasoned and diverse development team, Unknown 9: Awakening represents the tentpole of a much larger content ecosystem that is being built around the ambitious Unknown 9 storyworld.

Unknown 9: Awakening follows the story of Haroona, a Quaestor born with the ability to venture into the Fold: a mysterious dimension that overlaps our own. In their quest for powerful hidden knowledge, she will learn to master her unique connection to the Fold, which allows her to channel its powers into our world. But such power does not go unnoticed. Haroona quickly becomes the target of the Ascendants, the splinter faction of a secret organization known as the Leap Year Society, which wants to use the Fold to alter the course of human history.

Players will embark on a globetrotting journey to right the wrongs of Haroona's past. As this quest unfolds, they will choose whether to ambush opponents from the shadows or fight by stepping into their enemies to control them, dodge bullets, shield attacks, hurl energy, and devise creative combat combinations to customize their playstyle.

Today, I informed our teams that I made the decision to not greenlight further work on a future project that was in the conceptualization phase and thus terminating this development line.

Continuing this project would not have been sustainable for the future of the studio. Regrettably, this also means that there will be redundancies following this decision.

This decision correlates directly with the failure of the studio’s ambitious and courageous first project, a new IP with a rich transmedia universe. The performance of the release didn’t come near the company expectations, after numerous timeline adjustments and investments, both financially and other, and didn’t warrant any further exploration in this universe.

Unfortunately, this also affects back-office staff, bringing the support teams in line with the single project approach the studio will adopt for the imminent future. Where possible, staff will be assigned to this project, based on an existing Bandai Namco IP, which is shaping up very well.

Reflector Entertainment will be providing adequate severance packages, extended health benefits for affected staff and their families, continued access to emotional, mental health and counselling services and finally, proactive career planning support to set them up for future success.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe will continue investing in creating Western content for global audiences, in line with the Group’s vision.

Herve Hoerdt
CEO, Reflector Entertainment / CCO, Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe

The broader Unknown 9 universe features interconnected media and content offerings with intersecting characters and storylines that form a rich and immersive Storyworld - including a mystery-thriller novel by bestselling author Layton Green entitled Unknown 9: Genesis, an original podcast called Unknown 9: Out of Sight, and a comic book, Unknown 9: Torment. These various offerings are all standalone products, but when experienced as a whole, they form a broader narrative and lead to a greater appreciation of the mysterious Unknown 9 universe. Players will be able to extend their Unknown 9: Awakening experience by enjoying these tales. Those who know where to look will uncover their share of crossovers, callbacks, secrets and more.

Unknown 9: Awakening is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC on October 18, 2024.