Phasmophobia developer Kinetic Games reckons 2026 will be "one of the biggest [years] in the game's history" as it moves towards the full release of the game.
Phasmophobia studio Kinetic Games is branching out into indie game publishing, and is actively seeking "creative games from small teams and solo developers globally, who have a clear vision for their title and are 12-18 months from release", a press release said.
Spooky season is way past us, and the jollymaxxing hasn't ended yet (at least not in my very archaic Orthodox part of the world), but Phasmophobia never sleeps, and neither do its ghosts. The devs have now announced 2026 will be one of the game's biggest years yet, with the 1.0 release fast approaching.
As announced by the game's developers on X, Phasmophobia will finally launch in full in 2026, bringing its years-long early access program to a satisfying closure. Millions have already played the game, tested it, and helped develop it through their feedback, but more is coming ahead of the official 1.0 release.
This year will have many focuses, but key highlights are increased immersion, modernization, and better graphics. The game desperately needs the latter, and as you could tell from the outdated models, this was probably left for last. The atmosphere of each map and run is already top-notch, and these new finishes will just make the experience even better.
One of the most iconic maps, 6 Tanglewood Drive, is going to be reworked and brought in line with other reworked maps. A much-needed update will be given to the player models, which are frankly immersion-breaking at the moment. The new models will be significantly more realistic and pleasant to look at, which is always a plus.
Animations for both player characters and the first-person camera will be polished, updated, and refined to create a more immersive, grounded experience.
Though it wasn't mentioned in the plans, I sincerely hope some more attention is given to the ghosts and their AI. A lot of the game revolves around communicating with forces unseen, and I've been ghosted (pun intended) way too many times, making me dread a return to a game that doesn't respond. Demonologist drew me away because of that, even if it doesn't have as good a vibe and depth as Phasmophobia. It's just way more reactive, and I pray to see that improved by the time 1.0 comes around.
This update, aimed to release in the first quarter of this year, is a major step toward 1.0. The latter will also include the "reworked Horror update" once it arrives, bringing an end to what's been one of the most popular, fun, and interesting early access programs in the history of indie games.
After 1.0, a lot more could be on the way, given that the devs will have made the game feature-complete and ready for further expansion based on a solid gameplay foundation.
The post Phasmophobia promises that 2026 will be one of its best years—but here I am just hoping the voices in the dark will finally talk back appeared first on Destructoid.
Spooky season is way past us, and the jollymaxxing hasn't ended yet (at least not in my very archaic Orthodox part of the world), but Phasmophobia never sleeps, and neither do its ghosts. The devs have now announced 2026 will be one of the game's biggest years yet, with the 1.0 release fast approaching.
As announced by the game's developers on X, Phasmophobia will finally launch in full in 2026, bringing its years-long early access program to a satisfying closure. Millions have already played the game, tested it, and helped develop it through their feedback, but more is coming ahead of the official 1.0 release.
This year will have many focuses, but key highlights are increased immersion, modernization, and better graphics. The game desperately needs the latter, and as you could tell from the outdated models, this was probably left for last. The atmosphere of each map and run is already top-notch, and these new finishes will just make the experience even better.
One of the most iconic maps, 6 Tanglewood Drive, is going to be reworked and brought in line with other reworked maps. A much-needed update will be given to the player models, which are frankly immersion-breaking at the moment. The new models will be significantly more realistic and pleasant to look at, which is always a plus.
Animations for both player characters and the first-person camera will be polished, updated, and refined to create a more immersive, grounded experience.
Though it wasn't mentioned in the plans, I sincerely hope some more attention is given to the ghosts and their AI. A lot of the game revolves around communicating with forces unseen, and I've been ghosted (pun intended) way too many times, making me dread a return to a game that doesn't respond. Demonologist drew me away because of that, even if it doesn't have as good a vibe and depth as Phasmophobia. It's just way more reactive, and I pray to see that improved by the time 1.0 comes around.
This update, aimed to release in the first quarter of this year, is a major step toward 1.0. The latter will also include the "reworked Horror update" once it arrives, bringing an end to what's been one of the most popular, fun, and interesting early access programs in the history of indie games.
After 1.0, a lot more could be on the way, given that the devs will have made the game feature-complete and ready for further expansion based on a solid gameplay foundation.
The post Phasmophobia promises that 2026 will be one of its best years—but here I am just hoping the voices in the dark will finally talk back appeared first on Destructoid.
Five years after its launch into early access, Phasmophobia is still an absolute blast, especially in co-op. Kinetic Games continues to support it with content updates, new features, and quality-of-life additions. With the release of Nell’s Diner, the developers have also partnered with Twitch for a drops campaign.
Here is how you can earn and claim Twitch drops for Phasmophobia on PC.
I didn’t expect to get as invested in Phasmophobia as I have in recent years. When the game first launched, it seemed like a lighthearted multiplayer title best suited to streamers or players who didn’t take horror too seriously. But the more I played, the more I realized I was wrong. The team at Kinetic has stayed dedicated to building a genuine horror experience—whether playing alone or with friends.
Hot off the heels of the addition of the Point Hope Lighthouse map and the drastically redesigned Bleasdale and Grafton Farmhouses comes the highly anticipated Nell’s Diner—a simple yet deeply atmospheric new map that adds a lot of dynamism without completely overwhelming players.
Something I really liked about Phasmophobia’s Point Hope map was how it experimented with verticality, and seeing more maps that played on somewhat traditional styles interested me more than just making haunted houses. Nell’s Diner feels like a map that fits this design philosophy. From the moment you step outside your mobile ghost-hunting unit, an unnerving atmosphere hangs in the air.
According to Phasmophobia’s Art Director Corey Dixon, “Phasmohobia’s atmosphere works so well in familiar locations. Players stop playing the game and then get scared of their own houses sometimes! We wanted to recapture that feeling with somewhere that most people have, or could, visit.” He added, “It also had to be a location that fit within our planned design for our next map; small in overall size, a mixture of spacious/claustrophobic areas, and a new, unique visual theme for the game. A Diner just ticked every box!”
The sound of flickering fluorescent lights pierces the silence as a massive neon sign looms above. A lone police car sits abandoned outside the diner, bathing the front of the building in a swirl of red and blue. Once inside, players are transported to a bygone era. Between two dining areas lined with red leather booths sits a front counter marked by signboards for the daily specials and long-forgotten coffee pots.
Players can enter the back of Nell’s through the kitchen, which has a foreboding ambiance. A centre island grill is surrounded by prep counters, making the room feel claustrophobic and offering few places to hide during a hunt. Beyond the kitchen are the employees’ area, the manager’s office and the maintenance rooms.
From the dining area, a short hallway connects to the customer bathrooms and the employees’ area. The layout, while simple, creates a labyrinth-like sense of separate rooms and connecting corridors. Because the design of Nell’s closely mirrors an authentic diner—speaking as someone who has worked in one—it also limits the number of hiding spots players have come to expect in the Phasmophobia experience.
That’s the beauty of Nell’s Diner. On the surface, it’s a relatively simple map—in terms of overall size, it’s only a little bit bigger than Phasmophobia’s first map, 10 Tanglewood Drive. But the way it’s designed to emulate an actual restaurant makes it feel somewhat disorienting to navigate—especially in the dark. in fact, according to Dixon, the team actually visited several diners in the UK and US to draw inspiration. It creates a sense of constant unease and panic where, despite being a small map, there’s nowhere really to run and even fewer places to hide.
Much like with Point Hope and the updated Farmhouses, the level of environmental detailing and interactable objects in Nell’s is through the roof. A lone jukebox will play a single rock ‘n roll track, arcade machines will light up the title screen, accompanied by theme music, and little signs and newspapers scattered around the building reference other areas and events within the Phasmophobia mythos.
But for players who still crave seemingly “normal” locations, there’s still more in the pipeline, as Dixon said, “Our next map rework will be the fan favourite Tanglewood. And we’re planning to push that into yet another unique theme for the game. We’ll have plenty of new interactables and things for players to discover when it launches.”
I’ve said before that you don’t need big bells and whistles to make an effective horror game—just engaging gameplay and a strong atmosphere—and with every update, Kinetic continues to prove its grasp of this. Nell’s Diner is a small but remarkably engaging new map that shows the team’s commitment not only to building a solid horror game, but to crafting an experience that is interesting, visually distinct and always evolving.
Also, there’s a particularly creepy sign for something called “Cyric’s Carnival,” and I am PROFOUNDLY excited about the idea that could be an upcoming map.
