Hollowlight Studios has confirmed that Ember Protocol will launch in February 2027, ending eighteen months of silence after the stealth game’s reveal. The announcement came alongside a nine-minute gameplay walkthrough that focused on the systems players have been asking about since day one: light, sound and the way guards remember you.
Studio director Anneke Vos said in a developer update that the team used the additional time to rebuild the campaign rather than polish what already existed. The original plan called for around twelve hours of story missions. The shipping version, according to the studio, sits at roughly eighteen to twenty hours for a first playthrough.
What the walkthrough showed
The footage followed a single infiltration of an orbital greenhouse. Every light source can be shot out, shaded or overloaded, and guards react to changes in the room rather than to scripted triggers. A patrol that walks past a dimmed lamp twice will call it in on the third pass. It is a small detail, but it suggests the systemic depth that made Hollowlight’s earlier work so replayable.
- Guards share information over a radio network you can listen to, jam or spoof.
- Noise is simulated per surface, so metal grating and moss-covered floors behave differently.
- Non-lethal runs are tracked separately and unlock an alternative ending.
Platforms and pricing
Ember Protocol is coming to current consoles and PC. The studio has not announced a price, but confirmed there will be no paid expansions planned at launch and that the base game includes the full campaign and challenge mode.
Pre-orders are not open yet. Hollowlight says a longer preview event is scheduled for late November, where press will play the first three missions.
