Hunter’s Moon has been officially revealed as a first-person historical folk-horror game coming exclusively to PlayStation 5 this October. Developed by independent studio Twin Swans, the game follows an accused woman attempting to survive a single night in a 17th-century English village while being pursued by witch hunters. It launches on October 25 in North America and October 26 across regions including the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Players take the role of Lilith Thorne, who must escape through a rural village and its surrounding forests and moors after being accused of witchcraft. She is pursued by several figures, including the Witchfinder General, the village magistrate and a local huntsman. Rather than fighting them directly, Lilith relies on stealth, observation and information gathered from the people around her.
One of Hunter’s Moon’s central mechanics is built around eavesdropping. Players can listen at windows and other locations to overhear conversations between villagers, potentially discovering warnings, useful advice, sacred objects and other information that can help Lilith survive. Twin Swans describes the mechanic as inspired by immersive theatre, with exploration designed around listening to multiple stories unfolding throughout the village.
The game features more than 100 fully voiced characters, allowing players to encounter a wide range of people affected by war, poverty, superstition and fear. Mummers dressed in folk costumes also appear throughout the setting, reinforcing the game’s emphasis on historical traditions rather than conventional supernatural horror. The village is presented as a community under pressure, where Lilith must decide which conversations and people are worth trusting.
Hunter’s Moon takes inspiration from the real history of English witch hunting, particularly the activities of Matthew Hopkins. Hopkins began operating as a self-styled Witchfinder General in 1644 and later published The Discovery of Witches in 1647, defending the methods used to identify suspected witches. Together with John Stearne, he became associated with one of the most notorious periods of witch persecution in England.
Writer-director Alicia Contestabile began developing the concept in 2019 while working as a producer at Crows Crows Crows. She later founded Twin Swans to turn the original screenplay idea into an interactive project. Members of the studio have previously worked on games including The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Signalis.
Despite its folk-horror presentation, Twin Swans is deliberately avoiding the usual assumption that witches or supernatural monsters must be real within the story. The developers instead want the fear to come from people, social beliefs and the consequences of suspicion. That approach positions Hunter’s Moon closer to historical psychological horror than a traditional monster-driven game.
The art direction follows the same philosophy. Twin Swans says the game is grounded in historical realism but uses handcrafted stylized visuals rather than aiming for photorealism. The result is intended to reflect the atmosphere and material culture of Early Modern England while still giving the project a distinct visual identity.
The entire story takes place over the course of one night, which gives the game a relatively concentrated structure. As Lilith moves between the village, forests and surrounding moorland, the player is expected to piece together both the larger witch hunt and the individual stories of the people caught within it. Conversations and environmental details appear to be as important to survival as avoiding the people actively searching for her.
Twin Swans has not yet detailed the game’s total length, progression structure or whether player decisions can significantly alter the ending. The reveal instead focuses on the central premise, historical setting and eavesdropping mechanic. More information about how choices and collected knowledge affect Lilith’s route through the night is expected closer to release.
Hunter’s Moon launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 on October 25, 2026 in North America and October 26 in most other regions. Its combination of historical research, stealth and information-driven exploration gives the game a distinct approach to folk horror, using the real-world fear surrounding witch hunts as its primary source of danger.
