A new publishing slate takes shape
Kinetic Publishing used its first showcase to reveal five games planned for 2027 and 2028. Xbox Wire, the primary record for the announcement, says the lineup spans unsettling science-fiction horror and cosy magical farming.
That is the clearest change from Kinetic Publishing’s earlier position. The label had been established, but the showcase now gives it a public group of projects and a release window covering those years.
Kinetic says the label was created to give independent developers the support founder Daniel Knight would have wanted while making Phasmophobia. PlayStation Blog also says Kinetic established the label in January of this year, following the success of Phasmophobia.
According to PlayStation Blog, Phasmophobia has sold over 27 million copies. That reported company history helps explain why Kinetic is moving from making its own horror game into publishing work from other teams.
The confirmed shape of the lineup
Xbox Wire confirms five titles were shown during the first Kinetic Publishing Showcase, though the cited announcement material does not provide a complete named list. It describes the games as covering very different styles, from science-fiction horror to magical farming.
One title named in the Xbox Wire material is Contact Protocol. Its cited listing points to a game involving starships, document interrogation, and torpedoes, but the reporting reviewed here ends before it explains the game further.
PlayStation Blog adds that the games will be available on PlayStation. The cited material does not establish a full platform list, individual platform plans, or whether every game will arrive at the same time on each platform.
Source-backed slate at a glance
- Kinetic Publishing revealed five games, according to Xbox Wire and PlayStation Blog.
- The announced publishing window covers 2027 and 2028.
- The range includes science-fiction horror and cosy magical farming, according to Xbox Wire.
- PlayStation Blog says the slate will be available on PlayStation.
- Contact Protocol is named in the Xbox Wire material, but its full description is not available in the reporting reviewed here.
This is a broad announcement rather than a detailed release schedule. Players now know the label’s first output is intended to cover several genres, but they do not yet have full information for most of those games.
Project C is now Precognition
The showcase also gave a name to a project tied to Sam Barlow. PC Gamer reports that Barlow had teased a project called Project C in 2024, and that it was unveiled at the Kinetic showcase as Precognition.
PC Gamer reports that Precognition is a science-fiction thriller from Barlow’s Half Mermaid Productions in collaboration with Brandon Cronenberg. Eurogamer likewise reports that the game is called Precognition and identifies it as a science-fiction horror game.
According to PC Gamer, players take the role of Diana, who receives an experimental brain implant that gives her visions of the future. The publication reports that exploring those visions and fixing them in present-day memory changes the future Diana has seen.
That premise suggests a story built around consequences and shifting outcomes. PC Gamer reports that Barlow described the project as an effort to push non-linear storytelling, meaning a narrative that can unfold in different paths rather than one fixed sequence. The report also says the team is focusing on player agency, or the player’s ability to influence what happens.
These are reported details, not first-party confirmation in the cited Xbox Wire record. Still, PC Gamer and Eurogamer independently align on the key point: Project C now has a title and a place in Kinetic Publishing’s debut group.
What the combined reports tell players
Taken together, the sources show two related developments. Xbox Wire provides the central announcement: Kinetic Publishing has publicly revealed its opening slate of five games. PlayStation Blog provides the company’s stated background and says the games are coming to PlayStation. PC Gamer and Eurogamer then add focused reporting on Precognition.
The result is a more concrete picture of Kinetic’s publishing plans. Rather than a label defined only by its stated goal of supporting independent developers, it now has a slate with a shared release period and a visible range of genres.
Precognition stands out because it resolves a long-running tease into a named game. For players familiar with Barlow’s previous work, the reported focus on future visions, altered outcomes, and non-linear storytelling gives a useful early sense of its direction.
Kinetic Publishing has moved from a newly established label to a publisher with five announced games planned for 2027 and 2028. Xbox Wire confirms the slate and its genre range, while PlayStation Blog adds that it will be available on PlayStation.
The strongest added detail concerns Precognition. PC Gamer and Eurogamer report that Sam Barlow’s former Project C is now a science-fiction horror project connected to Kinetic’s debut slate, with Eurogamer reporting a spring 2028 release.
Material unknowns remain significant. the reporting reviewed here does not give the full names of all five games, detailed gameplay information for Contact Protocol, a complete platform list, or release timing for most of the slate. Players have a clear starting point, but not yet a full roadmap.