What The Stars Forgot
Coming to Steam Early Access December 2025. Full launch March 2026.
What The Stars Forgot is a retro-styled sci-fi horror management sim. You are the cutting-edge AI running the most advanced starship ever constructed. You have to guide your crew as they embark on a mission to discover the source of an anomalous signal emanating from deep space. You will need to manage a procedurally generated crew of hundreds, optimize assignments, and respond to randomized events as the mission moves from bad to worse. Your crew will confront all of the dangers of space travel as well as the paranormal occurrences that only get stronger as you get closer to your goal. Your job is to keep as many alive as possible and complete the mission.
The Story
In the distant future, humankind has explored the galaxy. Whether by vessel or probe, every celestial body has been cataloged and we have found...nothing. The Milky Way is a desolate, lonely, lifeless void. The age of discovery is over, as is the dream of finding a new Eden somewhere in the cosmos. We are alone. Utterly alone.
Or rather, we were.
Four years ago, a long dormant probe at the edge of the Legasov Nebula suddenly re-activated, relaying an anomalous signal from a hitherto empty region of space. The signal, a strange pulse, proved ineffable - all mathematical and neurolinguistic attempts to decipher it failed.
The governments of Earth decided that the only course of action was to revive the long-lost art of exploration and dispatch a vessel to discover the source of the pulse. The brightest scientific minds spent the intervening years constructing the most advanced starship ever created, sparing no expense to put it at the very frontier of spectroscopy, nanoforging, and fold-drive technology. To assist the crew in a mission of this import, the ship builders installed the latest AI quantum core, dubbed SNPAI, at the heart of the ship.
To crew this singular vessel, the chairs of the expedition filled the various roles of the ship, from officers on down to janitorial, with the best candidates they could find, and provided them with the best training and equipment available. They would be humanity's first explorers in centuries, able to overcome any obstacle their journey put in front of them. So they hope.
They set out looking for answers. What they will find will go beyond anything they could fathom.
Gameplay
What The Stars Forgot is a horror-based management sim. You play the role of SNPAI (Sentient Neuromonitoring Partner AI), this ship's onboard AI supercomputer. The crew can manage their day-to-day responsibilities, so your job is to help them handle the events that occur during the course of the adventure. That could mean changing crew member assignments to make the best use of their individual skill sets, figuring out how to best balance the workload as the casualties mount, and how to respond to the various emergencies that will crop up during the course of your adventure.
One moment you may need to dispatch engineers to put out a shipboard fire, and in the next you'll need to quarantine individuals who have been infected with a dangerous virus and prioritize the development of a vaccine.
Space viruses are no joke!
A large portion of your responsibilities will be to manage the crew's performance. Some crew members will have hidden talents that will make them suited for a new role. Others may be complete novices at a particular job, but have a high potential for growth if you let them build experience. You will have to balance what assignments are optimal now, versus which could unlock advantages over time.
You will also need to pay attention to the moods of the crew members. The crew will provide clues, in the form of their words and deeds, about how they are feeling. Do they feel confident in their current assignment? Are they stressed out? Planning a mutiny? Suffering a complete break with reality? Left unchecked, crew member's stress can drive them to drink too much, stop performing their duties, or even start a dangerous, demon-worshipping cult.
The Game Loop
What The Stars Forgot is broken up into four sectors, each corresponding to a chapter of the game. In each sector, you will need to look for resources, manage dynamic events, and find the path to the next sector. As you progress through the adventure, the events you encounter will become more bizarre, disturbing, and supernatural.
The target game time for a single playthrough is approximately four hours, with a deep learning curve and high replayability.
Project Roadmap
Kickstarter Campaign: October 29th, 2025-November 28th, 2025
Early Access: late December, 2025
Full v1.0 launch: March 2026
About Airlock Games
Airlock Games is a brand new studio founded by industry vets Justin Fischer and Brock Feldman. The two have over 45 years of development experience between them, and have worked in the AAA space on major brands like Battlefield, Marvel, DC, and Star Wars.
What The Stars Forgot is their first title and represents the kind of games Airlock Games want to make: focused, innovative games (with an emphasis on horror) that allow them both to break out from the astronomical scope and revenue requirements of the AAA space and work on games that allow them both to be hyper creative. They are excited to focus their energies on passion projects that allow them to wear multiple hats and take creative risks.