We finally saw some signs of life for Judas this week, with developer Ghost Story Games sharing an update on the long-in-development project.
“We know, we know… we’ve been silent for a while. It takes a lot of time and energy to make marketing materials like trailers, and we’re trying to focus all our efforts on finishing Judas,” says creative director Ken Levine.
Levine goes on to add that the team wants to share more about the game through blog posts focused on particular aspects of the upcoming title. The team also shared the game’s new key art, which can be seen above.
Eventually, you’ll have to make decisions about who you’re going to focus your energy on… and who you’ll wind up alienating
creative director Ken Levine
Judas is a single-player first-person shooter, and according to Levine, a major feature of the game is “Villainy,” where the player’s actions determine who ends up being the main antagonist.
That’s because Judas (the titular protagonist) has to interact with the so-called “Big 3,” three different characters on board the collapsing starship. Each has different goals, and while you can try and befriend all of them, eventually someone will be left out. Ignore them, and these characters gain new abilities that are meant to threaten players and shake-up the status quo.
As an example, security chief Tom offers “Rent-a-Deputy” robots that can assist in combat. Annoy him, and these robots will turn hostile against you.
“The more dangerous and character-specific stuff will be kept a secret, for now,” Levine says. “Eventually, you’ll have to make decisions about who you’re going to focus your energy on… and who you’ll wind up alienating.”
“We want losing one of them to feel like losing a friend. We want to play with that dynamic, and we want that choice to be super hard. The Big 3 are all going to be competing for your favor and attention. They can bribe you, save you in battle, talk shit about the other characters, and share with you their darkest secrets. But eventually, you’ve got to decide who you trust and who you don’t.”
Judas has been in development for a long, long time
It’s important to note that the last game helmed by Levine, BioShock Infinite, launched back in 2013. Shortly after its release, Levine announced he was closing down developer Irrational Games, taking a small handful of staff to found a studio under Take-Two Interactive, Ghost Story Games.
A report from Bloomberg in 2022 indicates that this game (then untitled) was originally slated to launch in 2017, but was subject to frequent delays as multiple employees quit due to Levine’s management style.
In February 2023, Take-Two Interactive’s financial results noted that Judas was expected to launch at some point by March 2025. As of Aug. 28, 2025, there’s no release date, but it does seem like Judas is creeping closer and closer to arrival.
“While we wish we could give you an exact date today, we’re not quite ready to finalize that,” Levine says.
As you know, release dates have a way of slipping by, and we’d like to avoid having to change the date after we announce it.
creative director Ken Levine
“As you know, release dates have a way of slipping by, and we’d like to avoid having to change the date after we announce it. But we know Judas is not really a game until the players get their hands on it, and that’s a day everyone on the team is working toward.”
Hopefully we won’t be going too much longer before learning more, even if the game isn’t releasing in 2025.
Personally, I’m still quite interested in the concepts being described here, and the game certainly sounds ambitious, but we’ll have to wait and see how the full project pans out.
Whenever it eventually arrives, Judas will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Epic Games Store and Steam), and PlayStation 5.
I also have to mention that BioShock is still facing development hell even after Levine left it behind, with developer Cloud Chamber undergoing layoffs while former Diablo head at Blizzard Entertainment, Rod Fergusson, has taken charge as the new studio head on the next BioShock.
