Kinetic Publishing and Cold Zephyr Games announce Contact Protocol for consoles and PC

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 sees players take on the role of a security officer onboard the starship Pale Horse, a GalCo mining vessel setting course to Jupiter’s largest moon. Players will have to assess the intentions of approaching ships, comparing the information they provide against company records, and determine whether they are friend or foe. However, this is no simple admin job; 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 players can 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, in a press release. “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 markMulti-task: Fix contact frequencies, check hull images, and recover corrupted data – all while answering commsChoices matter: Player decisions will affect your relationships with the crew and their narratives, and will have knock-on effects throughout the solar systemProcedural starships: No two encounters will be the same, and no outcome can be predictedA 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. The post Kinetic Publishing and Cold Zephyr Games announce Contact Protocol for consoles and PC appeared first on GamesBeat.

Aug 13, 2026 - 04:27

Kinetic Publishing and Cold Zephyr Games announce Contact Protocol for consoles and PC

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 sees players take on the role of a security officer onboard the starship Pale Horse, a GalCo mining vessel setting course to Jupiter’s largest moon. Players will have to assess the intentions of approaching ships, comparing the information they provide against company records, and determine whether they are friend or foe.

However, this is no simple admin job; 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 players can 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, in a press release. “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: Player 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.

The post Kinetic Publishing and Cold Zephyr Games announce Contact Protocol for consoles and PC appeared first on GamesBeat.

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