Judas: Bioshock creators’ new game – Trailer, gameplay & everything we know

Sam Smith
Judas Ken Levine game

Judas, the next game from BioShock creator Ken Levine, is starting to take shape. From our first gameplay snippets to a rundown on its player-driven narrative, here’s everything we know about this new shooter all in one place.

If you’re longing to play something similar to BioShock then rejoice, Ken Levine is working on a new game. Judas was first revealed at the 2022 Game Awards and while the game looks strikingly similar to the underwater and sky-high horror franchise on the surface, there’s far more to it than first meets the eye.

Like Levine’s former work, Judas is a “single-player, narrative first-person shooter” and while colorful, the game’s first trailer shows off some wonderfully dark and violent themes. This time the action is set in space on a failing ship where the inhabitants are starting to revolt. The player will need to make and break alliances with different characters and factions to stay alive.

So from early gameplay details to a breakdown on the structure of its storyline, here’s everything we know about Judas thus far.

Contents

judas powers
The powers in Judas remind us of Plasmids from BioShock.

Does Judas have a release date?

No official release date has been confirmed as of yet, but the devs have said that the game is likely to be released by March 2025.

Judas was most recently shown off at Sony’s January 31 State of Play event and while the game looks sharper than ever, still no release date or even rough release window was provided.

What platforms will Judas be released on?

Judas is confirmed to be coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Epic Game Store.

Judas trailers

Our first look at Judas came on December 9, 2022 with a brief reveal trailer showing not only cinematics but gameplay in motion too. Check out the first Judas trailer below:

Next came the Judas Story Trailer on January 31, 2024. “Will you fix what’s broke? Or leave it all to burn,” being the game’s tagline as we now know your choices directly impact the outcome of the narrative.

Judas gameplay and setting details

Judas shares a lot of tonal similarities with BioShock in terms of design and style. Like Levine’s previous adventures, every character looks like they’d fit in well at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. The trailers show various characters killing each other in bizarre outfits and with a twisted take on fairground rides and other troupes that feel very BioShock.

However, this first-person shooter is set in space and will be much more sci-fi-focused than previous Ken Levine games. The player also seems to have powers that remind us of Plasmids. We imagine Judas will also have some RPG elements and tough moral choices to make.

The trailer asks us if we’ll fix what we broke and suggests the player will need to form alliances with some characters – but may also need to betray some others. This ties in with the overarching focus of Levine’s new game, giving more control to the players.

Where before, his stories were linear, taking you on a set patch, Judas gives you the choice on how to progress. “What if you could choose between who to befriend and who to stab in the back?” Levine asked in a recent PlayStation blog.

“How the story unfolds is up to you. You, as Judas, are the driver of every event in a story… in ways you haven’t experienced before in our games.”

The game is designed to be “highly replayable” meaning there will likely be numerous paths to take that lead to various different endings.