While Nacon Studio Milan had confirmed another delay for Terminator: Survivors, the studio has now revealed its plans for its continued development. In an update on Steam, the studio provided some details about its vision for the game, and how it aims to accomplish this vision, which revolves around creating an “authentic Terminator experience.”
Terminator: Survivors is being developed around three key pillars – an open-world experience, a brand new story that takes place in the Terminator universe, and an attention to detail when it comes to the design of the iconic T-800. The first one of these has proven quite challenging for Nacon Studio Milan, especially with the developers’ need to balance player freedom and agency with telling a meaningful story. This, in turn, has meant that the studio had to focus more on ensuring that the world sees changes alongside the player.
“Capturing the proper balance between punchy action and meaningful story is as important for us as it was for the original films (if not arguably greater), but that becomes a bit more complex once you’ve given the player the freedom to go where they want, when they want, and to then do what they want — the implications of an open world can be quite far-reaching,” explained the studio. “In turn, this means we’ve had to invest a lot of care into making the world feel as though it’s moving around you, just as much as you are moving through it; from how you navigate and traverse the open-world (whether on foot or by vehicle), to the way that Skynet patrols the wasteland and hunts down those who have lingered on in the wake of Judgment Day, and the many points of interest scattered throughout.”
Ultimately, this also means that players have ample freedom in how they approach any encounter in the game’s world. While going in guns blazing is certainly an option, there will also be other choices, like long-range sniper rifles and short-barreled shotguns, and everything in between. Players can also employ stealth to sneak around the encounter, moving forward without firing a single shot.
More details about the development of Terminator: Survivors are slated to be revealed over time, with the studio confirming that its next post will revolve around the game’s world-building. We will also receive more information on other aspects, such as where in the Terminator timeline this game would fall, and how player choices will affect not only the story of the game itself, but also the rest of the overarching timeline.
Back in December, creative director Marco Ponte had revealed that the studio had cancelled its plans to add a co-op mode to the game alongside those for early access. In an update, he said that this decision came down to offering players “an authentic ‘Terminator‘ experience with the best possible shooting and exploration gameplay.”
Terminator: Survivors was originally slated for an Early Access release in 2024, before eventually being delayed to 2025. In light of the more recent delay, Nacon Studio Milan hasn’t announced any new planned release date. It is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
