Saros is one of the best-looking upcoming space games, and not just because it stars the rough and gruff Rahul Kohli. Saros will get in your head.
After a thinner-than-desirable selection of first-party PlayStation games in 2025, Sony is coming back stronger in 2026 with Saros. Here, the Housemarque team has taken its third-person roguelike shooter formula – as first introduced in Returnal – to the next level.
What is the Saros release date?
Saros is set to release on April 30, 2026.
The game's development and marketing have been pretty straightforward so far. Housemarque started working on Saros right after Returnal launched in 2021, and it wasn't revealed to the world until February 2025.
Saros was originally slated for a March 20, 2026, release, but – announced at The Game Awards 2025 – was then bumped to April 30, 2026.
What platforms will Saros be available on?
Saros will launch exclusively on PS5.
While chances are Sony will stick to its recent 'timed exclusives' strategy of gradually bringing first-party releases to PC, Saros is a PS5 exclusive at the time of writing.
We don't have the full list of unique features yet, but expect it to make good use of PS5's DualSense controller and 3D audio, as well as PS5 Pro's extra visual enhancements.
Saros trailers
So far, we've seen three Saros trailers. The first one was purely cinematic and a big mood setter, introducing Rahul Kohli (The Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass) as Arjun Devraj, the game's protagonist.
It dropped on February 12, 2025, and you can watch it right here:
After spending most of the year without news about the game, a new PlayStation stream shared the first-ever gameplay with us. It's a 5-minute look at Arjun's abilities, some of the unique weapons he comes across, a bit of the setting, and the fresh "second chance" mechanic that reminds us of Sekiro a little bit. Take a look below:
Then on December 11, 2025 the official Saros pre-order trailer was revealed at The Game Awards. We were treated to a bit more of the story, characters, and gameplay too:
What is the plot of Saros?
Set in the future (we don't know when), Saros takes us to the fictional planet Carcosa, where the Soltari enforcer Arjun Devraj looks into the disappearance of an entire off-world colony. It's also been teased that Arjun is looking for a specific someone, adding the emotional stakes we've learned to expect from big-budget PlayStation Studios games to the already enticing mix.
Just after watching that stylish first teaser, it's clear something rather horrifying happened on the planet, and perhaps the ominous eclipse bathing Carcosa in orange light has something to do with it. As alien monsters and twisted cosmic horrors try to stop Arjun's advances, time loop after time loop, he begins to uncover holograms that tell part of what happened there.
Of course, those who have done their homework know the saros is a period of 223 synodic months (18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours); this is used to predict Earth's Sun and Moon eclipses. The connection here is obvious, but how these cycles apply to the world of Carcosa is a complete mystery. And if that planet name sounds familiar, maybe it's because you've read Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" or the 1895 book The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. Or perhaps you loved the hit HBO show True Detective...
What type of game is Saros?
At first glance, Saros is a sci-fi-themed third-person shooter with big cosmic horror elements. That alone is very appetizing, sure, but what if there was a time loop twist to the entire adventure? And what if the player character could get suits and gun upgrades that change with every run? This is all familiar to those who've played plenty of roguelite games in the past, but they're rarely seen in triple-A games.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle Saros is facing is how it can clearly differentiate itself from Returnal beyond the change in setting and main character. Why a new property instead of a sequel? Well, it appears Housemarque began to answer that question by putting lots of effort into Arjun's physical abilities, which are amplified by the combat suit he wears run after run. Predictably, it can be upgraded, but beyond improving stats and stacking more passive effects, these pickups can allow Arjun to jump much higher, literally run over the smaller enemies, or even create temporal energy shields.
When it comes to firepower, on top of the usual shiny weapons that we'll randomly come across, like in any proper roguelite, the character can block and deflect back enemy shots, and turn the eclipse's energy into powerful blasts. The downside is that overuse of such powers can corrupt Arjun and place debuffs on him. Long story short: Saros is giving players more tools of destruction and defense, but in exchange, striking a balance and learning about the risk/reward associated with powers is essential.
Does Saros have a multiplayer mode?
Saros doesn't include local or online co-op multiplayer.
So far, we've been told Saros is strictly a single-player (albeit highly replayable) game, but considering Returnal received a free co-op mode long after launch, we wouldn't rule out Housemarque pulling the same surprise here, especially if the game is a big enough hit.
Just don't preorder or buy it at launch, expecting a multiplayer update to come.
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