Hello! We’re Kati and Florent, Lead Narrative Designer and Creative Director, from the Aphelion team at Don’t Nod. Now that you’ve seen our game’s world premiere during Xbox Games Showcase, we wanted to talk more about it – including its conception, story, and what you can expect in terms of gameplay before it launches in 2026.
Aphelion is a linear action-adventure game set in space, blending exploration, traversal, stealth, and mystery. But more than anything, it’s a story-rich human journey with a grounded approach to sci-fi, and includes a dual-protagonist structure that shapes both the gameplay and the emotional core of the story.
Aphelion is set in the near-future – Earth is dying and humanity is desperately searching for another home in Persephone, the uncharted icy planet that Ariane and Thomas find themselves on. One of our early inspirations was the real-world hypothesis of Planet Nine – the theory that there’s a previously undetectable planet in the outer edges of our Solar System: what if it existed? What if we found it? In developing this vision, we’re proud to be collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) on Aphelion to ground our game’s science in reality.
You’ll play as both Ariane and Thomas, alternating between their perspectives as they try to find one another and reunite after a crash landing. Their separation is central – not just to the story, but to the game design too. Each character offers a different experience, and their unique situations reflect their personal journeys.
Ariane is physically capable and equipped for traversal. Through her, players will explore dangerous terrain by climbing, rappelling, navigating environmental hazards, and more. Thomas was injured in the crash, but can investigate and discover the mystery of the planet in different ways. This contrast creates a rhythm and duality that allows you to feel the weight of each character’s journey, separately and together.
Exploration is the heartbeat of Aphelion. What starts out as a mission compromised from the beginning becomes a deeper journey into the unknown. As you explore the environment and gather information, you’ll uncover clues as to the planet’s strange conditions, and what caused the crash of Ariane and Thomas’s ship, the Hope 01.
But at its core, this isn’t a game about a planet. It’s a tale about what we bring with us when everything else is lost. The game’s conception began with Ariane and Thomas, not the wider story around them. Their relationship, strained by duty and sacrifice, is the emotional heart of Aphelion. As they navigate this new world and the unknown, they are confronting something deeply personal: how we face the prospect of loss, and whether hope can survive in the aftermath.
It’s an emotional story about love, resilience, and hope, and we can’t wait to show you more. Aphelion will be released in 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud. It will be an Xbox Play Anywhere title, and available day one with Game Pass. To stay up to date, follow Don’t Nod on X, Instagram, and TikTok.
A SCI-FI ACTION-ADVENTURE ON THE EDGE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
By 2060, Earth will be uninhabitable. The discovery of a 9th planet – Persephone – at the edge of the solar system, is humanity's best hope. The European Space Agency is dispatching the Hope-01 scientific mission, consisting of 2 of their accomplished astronauts, Ariane and Thomas. Their mission: to survey the planet and determine whether humanity can prosper anew here.
Your adventure begins in chaos, as the crash landing of their ship scatters them across the planet, launching them on a desperate quest to find one another.
Aphelion is a cinematic third-person action-adventure set on the planet Persephone, an uncharted, frozen world. Stranded and isolated, you must survive the truly unknown, find each other, and complete the mission. Traverse stunning alien landscapes, avoid lurking threats, and discover the haunting secrets buried beneath the ice.
EXPLORE AN UNCHARTED PLANET
Explore the surreal beauty of Persephone, a vast frozen world shaped by deadly weather and ever-changing terrain.
Armed only with your explorational tools – pathfinder, oxygen tank, grappling hook, and more – you must face the unknown, traverse treacherous terrain, and gather clues about the strange, reality-bending phenomenon threatening your existence.
Ariane must persevere and push forward to save Thomas. Her Pathfinder tool helps her find the way through the shifting expanse. She faces desperate swings over dark chasms and tricky climbs up melting ice – risking her life with every step. Thomas, injured in the crash, must rely on ingenuity and observation, piecing together what surrounds him to survive. As both characters explore and investigate, they will uncover secrets and clues as to the planet’s strange conditions and what caused the crash of their ship.
HIDE TO SURVIVE
You are not alone. There is a hostile lifeform stalking you. Avoid detection in tense, thrilling stealth sequences; use the environment to your advantage, and stay one step ahead of whatever hunts you. Explore Persephone and complete the mission, all while trying to survive in the terrifying presence of an unknown enemy.
FIND EACH OTHER
Helpless on the edge of the solar system, the Hope-01 crew faces a brutal new world and the echoes of a complicated past. Ariane Montclair and Thomas Cross share a deep connection, a relationship left unresolved by the demands of their careers and their mission. Facing overwhelming odds, their fractured bond becomes a lifeline as they grasp in the dark for one another.
Key Features:
– Grounded sci-fi exploration: a realistic depiction of near-future space exploration
– Dual-perspective survival: experience both Thomas’s resourceful investigation and Ariane’s high stakes parkour gameplay
– Cinematic third-person action: gripping traversal mechanics, with grappling, sliding, and momentum-driven movement
– Tense stealth encounters: face an alien threat in tense and exciting stealth-based sequences
– An emotional core: two astronauts bound by a complicated past, fighting to find each other
A game in collaboration with: European Space Agency (ESA)
