The race to preserve humanity's legacy has started: Lunar Strike announced at gamescom
Cognition Europe unveils an adventure & exploration sci-fi game that's out of this world.
Zaventem, Belgium - Thursday, 21st August 2025 — Independent studio, Cognition Europe, has announced its debut title, Lunar Strike, a sci-fi narrative adventure and exploration game set on the hostile environment of the Moon's south pole. Launching on Steam and consoles in 2026 (with wishlisting now available) Lunar Strike is set in 2119 on humanity's final lunar colony, as it faces an impending, catastrophic threat from the heavens...
Revealed in a teaser trailer as part of FGS Live at gamescom, Lunar Strike blends speculative fiction with a game world grounded in hard science - including orbital dynamics and applied astrophysics - and ethical decision making, as players try to archive humanity's scientific and cultural legacy before it's lost forever.
Watch the extended announcement trailer
Lunar Strike focuses on compelling survival and character-driven storytelling over combat, as the protagonist - a tech-augmented archivist - races against time to preserve the evidence of humanity's presence on the Moon before its inevitable collapse and destruction. As players navigate the increasingly deteriorating base in lunar gravity, they will have to prioritise what real-world historical space artefacts are saved, and what is lost... forever.
Developed with ethical questions of legacy, memory, and responsibility at its heart, players will face increasingly difficult challenges to build and preserve the archive, with multiple outcomes driven by their decisions and values.
Lunar Strike Key Features
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Rich, multi-faceted narrative: Preserve the culture of the last lunar colony while making game-altering decisions that impact the story unravelling a new future for humanity.
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No Combat: Lunar Strike focuses on survival, scanning, puzzle solving, and decision-making. The gameplay unfolds under time pressures, environmental degradation, and mounting ethical tension.
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Grounded in Hard Science: Developed in collaboration with space researchers, the game incorporates realistic systems and hazards, including 1/6th lunar gravity, toxic Moon dust, and real-world physics.
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Cultural Heritage as Gameplay: Preserve humanity's story on the Moon. Through 3D scanning, photogrammetry, and archival logic, capture the final traces of lunar life before its collapse.
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Rooted in Real Ethics and Science Fiction: Inspired by real-life heritage efforts, built by creators with backgrounds in cultural preservation and storytelling, Lunar Strike invites thoughtful engagement with space exploration.
Brian Pope, Creative Director, Cognition Europe, said: "Lunar Strike has been developed from the outset to be grounded in real-world science and lunar research, while delivering a branching, character-driven narrative where every item preserved (or lost) by the player moulds the future record of humanity's presence on our only natural satellite.
"Lunar Strike is our way of making a call to action that we should be looking to safeguard humanity's heritage while embracing technological advancements, including AI, as positive forces for our collective future," he added.
About Cognition Europe
Cognition Europe is an independent studio based in Belgium, focused on narrative design, speculative science, and system-based storytelling. The team includes developers, researchers, sound designers, and advisors from across the space science and cultural heritage sectors. Lunar Strike is the studio's debut title. For more information, visit: https://cognition.eu.com/
