New on Steam: Fans have had to wait 13 years for this sci-fi game

A compact overview of the most important new games of the week on Steam.

This week, Steam has lots of exciting new releases in store for you—first and foremost, of course, Routine, a sci-fi horror game that is finally seeing the light of day after a 13-year development odyssey. But there’s much more to discover! As we do every Monday, we present the most exciting PC releases of the week.

Highlight of the week: Routine

The wait is over: Routine was announced back in 2012 and then disappeared from the scene for many years – now the sci-fi horror game is finally celebrating its release.

The game is set in an abandoned moon base: Here you explore the deserted laboratories and corridors, always searching for the cause of the crew’s mysterious disappearance. But be careful: something is going on at the station – and it’s hunting you!

Routine places great emphasis on immersion and suspense: There is no HUD, no health bars, and no second chances. If your character dies, you have to start over from the beginning. That’s why you’d better sneak through the shadows and listen to every sound instead of rushing in blindly.

For defense, you only have a multi-tool that you can use to hack doors or, if necessary, defend yourself against hostile robots. However, ammunition is scarce and direct confrontations often end fatally.

The atmosphere is reminiscent of genre classics such as Alien or System Shock: crackling radio static, eerie synthesizer sounds (by Doom composer Mick Gordon!), and flickering neon lights are guaranteed to create a dense atmosphere of tension. Horror and sci-fi fans can look forward to seeing whether Routine can enrich the genre after so many years of waiting.

More exciting Steam releases of the week

Monday, December 1, 2025

• MARVEL Cosmic Invasion: Avengers, assemble! In this colorful co-op brawler, 15 Marvel heroes from Iron Man to Spider-Man to Wolverine face off against the villain Annihilus’s nasty alien army. Developer Tribute Games (known for Shredder’s Revenge) presents a fighting game in which you can kick ass in iconic locations from New York to the Negative Zone. Each hero has unique special abilities, combos, and team attacks.

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

• Destiny 2: Renegades: In the new expansion, your Guardians find themselves in the lawless frontier of the solar system. As a budding Renegade, you’ll battle your way through criminal syndicates and, for the first time, get your hands on lightsabers and blasters as weapon types, officially inspired by Star Wars. These guns overheat instead of reloading, opening up whole new ways of playing in PvE and PvP. In addition to the fresh story campaign revolving around an intergalactic criminal empire, you can also expect new super abilities, equipment, and raids.

• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Hive Scum Class: The new DLC class lets you become a ruthless undercity thug in the co-op shooter Darktide. As a seasoned criminal, you’ll use every dirty trick in the book: pimp your combat stats with stims, poison your blades for extra damage, and throw nasty chem bombs to weaken your enemies. For the first time in Darktide, you can also dual-wield – wield two pistols at the same time for brutal bursts of fire or slash with two knives simultaneously.

• Call to Arms – Gates of Hell: Finest Hour: With the Finest Hour DLC, the WW2 strategy game expands its front lines to include the troops of the British Empire. In several historical missions, you lead the British Army through its finest hour against the Axis powers – including famous battles in North Africa and Europe. The add-on offers over 25 new units (from Churchill tanks to Spitfires), authentic British voice actors, and a brand-new campaign strand.

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

• DON’T SCREAM TOGETHER: The slightest scream and it’s all over. This innovative co-op horror game forces you and your friends to stay quiet. The four of you march through a pitch-black forest with camcorders. The special feature: Thanks to microphone detection, screaming is strictly prohibited—as soon as one player screams in fright or even curses too loudly, the game is over for everyone. Alternatively, the screamer can return as a ghostly hunter and pursue the rest of the group.

Thursday, December 4, 2025

• FEROCIOUS: Jungle, dinosaurs, continuous fire! In this survival shooter, you find yourself on a deadly island where not only mercenaries but also hungry dinosaurs and even combat mechs are hunting you. Far away from civilization, you fight your way through dense jungle, ruins, and underground laboratories, always on the lookout for weapons and equipment to help you survive another day. Ferocious mixes Far Cry with a Jurassic Park atmosphere: you take on giant T-Rexes and velociraptors, build camps for defense, and gradually uncover the island’s secrets.

• Cloudheim (Early Access): This co-op action RPG transports you to a fragmented world in the heavens. The old world lies in ruins, and the Norse gods have chosen you to forge a new one. Alone or with up to three allies, rebuild your own sky base on floating islands, craft powerful gear, and battle your way through hordes of enemies with chaotic physics.

• Echoes of Elysium (Early Access): This open-world survival RPG fulfills airship fantasies in co-op. In Echoes of Elysium, you also explore a series of floating islands high in the sky that are haunted by mechanical monsters after a mysterious catastrophe. Your refuge and most important tool is a self-built airship that serves as your home base, workshop, and combat vehicle. Alone or with up to five friends, you build your flying ship piece by piece—from a small sloop to a gigantic fortress with cannon turrets. Along the way, you collect resources in the floating biomes, defeat robo-beasts, and equip your crew with ever-better gear.

• OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0: The popular JRPG series from Square Enix gets an extensive prequel with Octopath Traveler 0. In HD-2D graphics (pixel look with modern lighting effects), this time you assemble a team of heroes consisting of up to eight characters – twice as many as usual! The turn-based combat system has been expanded accordingly, so your front and back rows must tactically exploit your opponents’ weaknesses. Another new feature is a building element: in the world of Orsterra, you build your own village as a base, recruit residents, and unlock upgrades. The story of Octopath Traveler 0 is based on the mobile spin-off Champions of the Continent, but has been completely reworked and freed from annoying gacha mechanics.

• Transience: Here, you take on the role of an elite mercenary who, as a notorious enforcer, has kept order in the underworld. But this time, you’re on the hit list yourself! In the futuristic New Houston of 2056, you must get out of the line of fire of the corporations that have put a high bounty on your head. You hack surveillance systems, silently take out guards with takedowns, or use an arsenal of high-tech weapons when things get dicey.

• Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow: The cult stealth series Thief is making a comeback, exclusively in VR. In Legacy of Shadow, you take on the role of the thief Magpie. You move your whole body, duck behind virtual cover in real life, and grab loot with your hands. You can also pick locks with your real hands, search desks for gold, and knock out unsuspecting guards with a blackjack. Of course, you also have a bow and arrow at your disposal, which you can use to shoot torches from a distance or silently take out enemies.

Friday, December 5, 2025

• Dungeon Rampage (Early Access): Fancy some uncomplicated hack-and-slash action with friends? Dungeon Rampage invites up to four players to venture through monster-infested dungeons together. In this top-down dungeon crawler, each player chooses a hero, equips them with loot they find, and unleashes a veritable slaughterfest in procedurally generated levels. Dozens of enemy types stand in your way as you collect treasures and gain experience. Thanks to randomly generated traps and room layouts, no two runs are alike.

If there was nothing for you this time, don’t worry: December has more highlights in store. So check out our embedded video above with all the important releases! Until then, have fun gaming – and feel free to write us in the comments which of these new releases you’re most excited about this week!