Swedish studio Dead Astronauts has announced HAEX, an atmospheric first-person survival shooter built around cooperative exploration, hostile weather, and a paranormal mist covering an alien-scarred wilderness. The game is planned to launch in Early Access for PC in 2027 through Steam and the Epic Games Store. It can be played solo or with up to three friends, giving players the choice between a solitary survival run and a coordinated expedition into a world where every step deeper into the fog raises the stakes.
The setup begins after a helicopter crash. Players wake up as part of a science expedition sent to the sub-arctic north to investigate an anomaly, only to find that some members of the team are missing. The search becomes the reason to push into the mist and uncover what caused the anomaly, but survival is never just a matter of following clues. The wilderness itself is dangerous, and the elements can kill as quickly as the creatures and machines emerging from the haze.
HAEX puts heavy focus on preparation and resource management. Cold, hunger, thirst, gathered supplies, and loadout choices determine how far each expedition can go before the risk becomes too high. Combat also changes as players move deeper into the mist, with new threats pushing them to adjust tactics and make careful use of firearms, heavy melee attacks, and specialized survival gadgets. The structure points to a survival loop where planning matters as much as aim.
One of the game’s more distinctive systems involves alien seeds that can be found or crafted by players. Planting them reshapes parts of the open world, opening routes and resources while also changing the environment in ways that may help or hurt the expedition. Progression carries across sessions, so a fully geared character can enter any world, including a friend’s active game. Characters and worlds are saved separately, allowing each world to keep its own independent state and storyline as players continue exploring its mysteries.
