# Directive 8020

Directive 8020 is an upcoming interactive drama and survival horror video game developed and published by Supermassive Games. It is the first game of the second season, and the fifth game overall in The Dark Pictures Anthology. Continuing the series' premise, the game features a cast of five playable protagonists and a multilinear narrative influenced by player choices. Its decision-making scenes can significantly alter the trajectory of the plot and change the relationships between the main characters; some can lead to the permanent death of the protagonists. In Directive 8020, a colony ship called Cassiopeia crash lands on Tau Ceti f, a planet that is 12 light-years from Earth. Lashana Lynch, who plays astronaut and pilot of the Cassiopeia, Brianna Young, is being marketed as the game's leading actress. Directive 8020 will be released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 2 October 2025.

## Gameplay

Directive 8020 is an interactive drama and survival horror game presented from a third-person perspective. Player control switches between the protagonists, the crew of a colony ship called Cassiopeia, which crash lands on Tau Ceti f, a planet that is 12 light-years from Earth. The surviving crew members are scattered after being brought out of hypersleep early. Like previous games in the series, narrative choices and quick time events (QTEs) return, but Directive 8020 includes stealth sections mixed in, as well as a variety of tools that can be used, including a scanner. The scanner is used to spot an alien that is capable of mimicking the appearances of the crew. A Sonic Screwdriver-like remote is also included to activate nearby electronics that can be used to distract enemies. Character movement has been reworked to feel "smoother on the sticks" according to creative director Will Doyle. Doyle also added that the game features "stronger survival horror action adventure elements to the gameplay".
On February 12, 2025, Will Doyle further elaborated on the inventory system. It is a "multifunctional utility strap that your character wears on their wrist", which controls as shoulder mounted flashlight, a scanner "for detecting electronics and remotely activating systems", a messenger which "lets you communicate and strategize with your crewmates from afar" when you're trying to stay under the radar of enemies, and something called a "wedge tool", which is designed for opening doors but can, as a last resort, be used as a weapon to temporarily stun aliens "giving you the chance to slip away and evade death".

## Development

Directive 8020 is the fifth game in a series of eight planned for The Dark Pictures Anthology. It will be the first game in the anthology's second season. By mid-October 2022, the game was entering production with a lot of data already shot.

### Story and design

The game stars Lashana Lynch as Brianna Young, an astronaut and pilot of a colony ship called Cassiopeia that crash lands on Tau Ceti f, a planet that is 12 light-years away after setting out to look for a new home to save humanity due to Earth being in the process of dying. Doyle described Directive 8020 as "The Thing in deep space". Doyle stated that the game also takes inspiration from other sci-fi horror films including Solaris (1972), Alien (1979), Event Horizon (1997), Pandorum (2009), Prometheus (2012), Life (2017), and Sputnik (2020). Other influences include H. P. Lovecraft's cosmic horrors. There was a NASA directive 8020.7G that was about biological contamination control for outbound and inbound planetary spacecraft. However, the directive expired in June 2022.

#### Plot Summary

Will Doyle described the plot as:
   Earth is dying, and humankind is seeking a new home in the stars. The Cassiopeia is the initial survey ship sent to scout our chosen planet. Think of it as a test run: the Cassiopeia is fully outfitted as a colony craft but is flying with a vastly reduced crew. Their mission is to test every procedure onboard without ever touching down on the planet they’ve been sent to orbit...The crew awakens from their four-year hyper sleep to a hull breach, a murder, and some extremely suspicious crew activity – all of which culminates in the ship crash landing on the planet...the ship is infected with an alien organism. Unfortunately for our crew, this organism can transform into any one of them. While you may be human, others in your crew may not be, and killers can hide behind familiar eyes.

### Casting

Directive 8020 continues the trend of the anthology by casting a recognizable face as the lead character. Doyle said they were lucky to have Lynch and that she brought "incredible power and depth" to the role of Brianna Young. Danny Sapani plays the captain of the Cassiopeia, Commander Stafford.

### Music

The soundtrack will be composed by Supermassive Games' long-time collaborator Jason Graves, who previously worked on music for the previous games in The Dark Pictures Anthology.

### Release

Directive 8020 was first revealed in a post-credits teaser trailer at the end of The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, which was released on 18 November 2022. However, the trailer leaked online the day before The Devil in Me's release, revealing a sci-fi setting. On 31 December 2023, a short video teaser for the game was posted to celebrate New Year's Eve. At Gamescom in August 2024, the game was officially announced. Directive 8020 will be released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 2 October 2025.