Housemarque Reveals Saros in Upcoming State of Play

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Today’s State of Play presentation by Housemarque kicked off with a preview of gameplay for Saros. The studio showcased new gameplay mechanics that build upon what it did with Returnal, and the trailer revealed that Saros is scheduled to launch on PS5 on March 20, 2026.

The trailer was action-packed and demonstrated that Housemarque isn’t trying to fix what wasn’t broken in Returnal’s gameplay. Instead, they are adding new features to increase danger for players. One of these features is a shield that can be used to block colored shots and return fire with more power.

Players will also get one extra chance per run, allowing them to revive at least once instead of reviving immediately. This feature is unlocked deep into the game, similar to Returnal. The trailer didn’t delve into the modifiers and upgrades you can unlock, so it’s possible there could be multiple chances depending on what players unlock.

Gregory Louden, creative director at Housemarque, explained in a PlayStation Blog post: “For our first look at gameplay, we wanted to show real and unedited action gameplay from Saros, layering new elements on top of Returnal’s award-winning third-person action. Our goal with these new elements has been to add more depth by providing a wider variety of tools.”

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Louden also mentioned that Arjun’s Soltari advanced combat suit allows for dashing, melee attacks, jumping, and other actions. At the start of each run, players can choose from a mix of Soltari human and Carcosan alien weaponry. In the trailer, Arjun uses a Soltari Phosphorous Shotgun to defend himself against hostile machines in an ancient city.

The story in Saros involves Arjun on the planet of Carcosa, but Housemarque carefully avoided revealing too much. Louden stated: “We also wanted to highlight how we are expanding our storytelling in Saros. Along with grounded voice-overs, stunning cinematics, haunting audio logs, and conversations with NPCs, there are Soltari Holograms detailing what happened on Carcosa as you explore. If you choose to collect them, they are vital to discovering what happened on this hostile planet. There’s also more surreal and mysterious storytelling sequences, but we will share more about these moments ahead…”

Saros is set to release on PS5 and PS5 Pro on March 20, 2026.