As Terminator fans are about to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with an official theatrical return on August 28, interest in the franchise has been replenished back to early 90s levels. While we’re still waiting for updates from James Cameron for the next mainline entry in the film series, he’s confirmed multiple times over the years that something major is on the way.

The next Terminator project promises to be something completely new and different, and Cameron has discussed moving away from the familiar iconography and legendary characters of the older movies. Further, Linda Hamilton has said she considers herself finished with Sarah Connor following Terminator: Dark Fate, which has raised major questions about the next project’s direction and main characters.

While we wait for an update from Cameron, however, there’s been a major development for Terminator fans with the announcement of Terminator: Survivors, a newly announced entry in the series that will introduce a major genre shift from its predecessor (via Steam).

Terminator Will Be Back… With A Twist

Terminator: Survivors is a newly announced video game adaptation from developers at Nacon Studio Milan that will serve as an official sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Unlike the previous Terminator video game adaptations, Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance and Terminator 2D: NO FATE, Survivors will completely switch genres to something much more fitting for the franchise: an open-world survival-shooter that will feature RPG mechanics and FPS gameplay.

While both previous games had their merits, Dark Fate – Defiance was an RTS game with a major focus on strategy that didn’t quite capture the action at the heart of the Terminator franchise. Similarly, NO FATE was a pretty solid arcade-style side-scroller, but featured retro-pixel style art and was more of a classic arcade experience than a proper modern video game adaptation that immersed you into the world alongside the T-800.

That’s where Survivors looks most promising, as we’re actually going to witness the horror and dread of being hunted by the T-800 for ourselves in an open-world experience. The survival-horror genre in particular is a perfect fit for Terminator, and fans are in for something special when Survivors eventually releases, though that may be a while as of this writing.

Terminator Survivors Looks Awesome

In a recent blog post from Terminator: Survivors developers, they gave a ton of insight into what gamers can expect from the project. Perhaps the most enticing aspect is how strongly it leans into the feeling of being hunted rather than simply mowing down machines or using T-800 as a set piece, or leaning too heavily into retelling stories from across the franchise.

Nacon Studio Milan is building a handcrafted open world where players can tackle encounters with everything from sniper rifles and shotguns to explosives and anti-machine technology, but stealth and outright escape are equally important. Most notably, a single relentless T-800 will pursue the player, recapturing the tension from the films and putting players right in the middle of the action.

The game will also feature exploration, resource gathering, driveable vehicles, base expansion, and decisions that can affect the surrounding world and its survivors. While there’s no release date available yet, gamers can wishlist Terminator: Survivors now on Steam.

Terminator: Survivors

Systems

ESRB

m

Developer(s)

Nacon Studio Milan

Publisher(s)

Nacon

Engine

Unreal Engine 5