With releases like Layers of Fear and Observer, Bloober Team has solidified itself as a studio horror fans would want to keep their eyes on. Now Bloober Team is keeping the momentum going with one of the first-ever horror games announced for next-generation consoles in the form of The Medium for Xbox Series X.
In The Medium on Xbox Series X, players take control of Marianne, a psychic who is able to live in both the real world and the spirit world. Compelled by a terrible vision of a child's murder, Marianne travels to an abandoned hotel to investigate. The Medium will revolve around Marianne's hunt for answers, letting players explore the creepy hotel where everything isn't as it seems.
Horror game fans will be excited to know that The Medium includes some work by famous Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka. Yamaoka will be teaming with Bloober Team's Arkadiusz Reikowski to create the game's soundtrack, an effort to reflect The Medium's theme of duality, according to the developers.
What's especially interesting about The Medium is that it appears to be a significant departure from Bloober Team's previous work in terms of gameplay. Whereas Bloober Team has mostly focused on first-person horror with Layers of Fear, Observer, etc., The Medium appears to be a third-person, more traditional survival-horror experience. This could be a big risk for the studio, but it could also be one that pays off big time.
Something else horror fans should note about The Medium is that the game will be launching this holiday season. Considering this, it's within the realm of possibility that The Medium will be an Xbox Series X launch title, but that's just speculation at this time.
Bloober Team seems to have a strong relationship with Microsoft. Not only was Bloober Team given the opportunity to reveal The Medium during this high profile Inside Xbox event, but it was able to reveal Blair Witch at Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference. Bloober Team's Blair Witch was actually one of the more notable surprises at Microsoft's E3 presentation last year, with the game launching on Xbox Game Pass and also enjoying a window of timed-exclusivity on Xbox and PC. No PS5 version of The Medium has been announced yet, but it's possible that it will come to Sony's console at some point down the line.
The Medium launches holiday 2020 for PC and Xbox Series X.