Surgent Studios, the award-winning team behind Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, and Pocketpair Publishing have officially revealed Surgent’s second title: Dead Take. The upcoming horror game about power and corruption in the entertainment industry is now available to wishlist on Steam.
In Dead Take, players will peel back the entertainment industry’s glittering facade to expose its darkest secrets. This gripping narrative experience will feature an impressive lineup of actors that will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
“We’re being secretive for a reason,” said Abubakar Salim, CEO of Surgent Studios. “The subject matter of this game is delicate, and it hits close to home. When it comes out, and it won’t be long until it does, I want players to think, ‘I can’t believe they actually did this.”
Dead Take is published by Pocketpair Publishing (Palworld, Craftopia) and is set to launch this year on PC via Steam.
What is Dead Take about?
Find your missing friend. Uncover the secrets within.
In Dead Take, you play as an actor who becomes uneasy when your friend won’t answer the phone. Delve into the gilded rot of the entertainment industry and show up at the last place he was before he went quiet: a dark, opulent mansion.
Haunted by mysterious humanlike figures, you advance into the house by solving object-based puzzles and splicing together the video clips you find along the way. Oddly quiet for the site of a glamorous party just hours before, the house is now populated by the figures that seem to turn up where you least expect them.
As you advance toward the heart of the mansion, the fate of your friend rests in your hands. Will you find him and uncover the truth about what happened last night?
Key Features to Expect:
Step into an actor’s shoes
Set out on a haunting single-player story shaped by real experiences in the entertainment industry, discovering the monstrous cost of creation for yourself.
As the actor, make your way through the mansion to piece together the story of how far a powerful executive will go to seal his legacy. Peer into the dark corners of the houses and of your own mind alongside strange humanlike figures that seem to haunt your steps.
Uncover the secrets of the mansion
Solve object-based puzzles to progress deeper into the house, from the front gate all the way to the home cinema.
As you advance, discover and edit together the video clips you find to unravel what really happened within these walls.
Creep through hallways and up or down staircases to progress through the grand foyer, art gallery, audition room and more in this single-player first-person psychological horror.
Peel back the glittering façade
Discover a side of the entertainment industry only discussed in whispers, full of cruelty and sordid gossip, memories of roles gone wrong, unsettling audition tapes and shadowy figures with the power to make or break your career.
Make your way through opulent and meticulously hand-crafted 3D rooms, full of tools and props inspired by real-world film sets, accompanied by composer Ross Tregenza’s chilling original score.
The horror doesn’t stop here
Surgent Studios is planning on more horror-related ventures after Dead Take, bringing their pioneering philosophy to storytelling across games, film, television, and emerging media. Surgent is currently continuing conversations with further prospective partners to help fund other games like Project Uso, an Afro-gothic action-horror RPG set in the Tales of Kenzera universe, which the studio revealed in 2024.
Until then, keep your eyes out for more news on Dead Take‘s official release date on Steam. Add the game to your wishlist now and stay tuned.
