STARSHIP JOB SIMULATOR CONTACT PROTOCOL, COMING TO PC AND CONSOLES SPRING 2027
Kinetic Publishing and Cold Zephyr Games have announced Contact Protocol, a starship job simulator set in a gritty cassette-future full of spaceships and CRTs. Coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Spring 2027.
Revealed as part of Kinetic Publishing’s first wave of titles at the Kinetic Publishing Showcase, Contact Protocol has you take on the role of a security officer onboard the starship Pale Horse, a GalCo mining vessel setting course to Jupiter’s largest moon. You’ll have to assess the intentions of approaching ships, compare the information they provide against company records, and determine whether they are friend or foe.
This is no simple admin job, however – as discrepancies are interrogated and requests for information are sent, the unknown ship approaches ever closer. Uncertainty can lead to disaster for the Pale Horse if a passing ship means harm, but choose to fire torpedoes out of caution and you just might doom a ship full of innocents. All the while the company is watching, with the threat of legal action looming if paperwork is mismanaged.
“Contact Protocol is inspired by the simple premise that, when under pressure and inundated with information, people do not make good decisions!” said Mick Hunter, Lead Designer at Cold Zephyr Games. “We’ve engineered the game so that the player’s cognitive load is at its highest whenever they are faced with a difficult moral decision – and we want to challenge them to make choices that they won’t regret later down the line. It’s about towing the line between doing the job, and doing the right thing.”
Contact Protocol Features:
- Investigate, Interrogate, Engage: Cross-reference incoming data bursts against company records, prod for answers to explain discrepancies, and destroy incoming ships that don’t meet the mark
- Multi-task: Fix contact frequencies, check hull images, and recover corrupted data – all while answering comms
- Choices matter: Your decisions will affect your relationships with the crew and their narratives and will have knock-on effects throughout the solar system
- Procedural starships: No two encounters will be the same, and no outcome can be predicted
- A painted universe: Discover a striking sci-fi world as sketchy and hard-edged as the game’s distinct art style
Contact Protocol will launch on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Spring 2027.
About Kinetic Publishing
Launched in 2026, Kinetic Publishing is the publishing label of Kinetic Games, the UK-based developer behind 27+ million selling horror phenomenon Phasmophobia.
Founded to champion innovation within the indie game development space, Kinetic Publishing aims to offer the level of support that would have benefitted Phasmophobia creator Daniel Knight at the start of his journey, and to help developers make incredible games without compromising their creative vision.
In 2027, Kinetic Publishing is launching gritty starship job simulator Contact Protocol and open world witch-tech delivery game Crescent County, followed by PRECOGNITION, Shellbound, and Aether Wizard Life in 2028. For more on Kinetic Publishing, visit the official website and follow them on YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, TikTok, X, and Bluesky.
About Cold Zephyr Games
Cold Zephyr Games was founded by former students from the London College of Communication, with one goal in mind – make games that make you think. Starting with Contact Protocol, the team’s debut title, Cold Zephyr Games aims to create interactive experiences that incorporate ethics, information, and the inner workings of the human brain in playful and unique ways.
