The developers behind the divisive looter-slasher Godfall are taking another swing at action combat with a completely different approach. Counterplay Games revealed Armatus during the November 20, 2025 Xbox Partner Preview, showcasing a frenetic third-person roguelite shooter where players hunt demons through the ravaged streets of Paris. Armed with modern firearms, celestial abilities, and melee weapons like magical scythes, you play as the last member of an ancient supernatural order searching for the Sunless Gate, a lost gateway to heaven hidden somewhere in the ruins. Launching in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store, the game arrives day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with promises of deep buildcraft and player expression through chaotic, breakable-by-design combat systems.
The Apocalyptic Setting
Armatus takes place after an event called The Vanishing ended the world as we know it. Demons now overrun the once-busy streets of Paris as reality itself unravels around the crumbling architecture. The few remaining human survivors huddle behind holy wards, believing themselves the last people alive and placing their desperate hope in you to carve a path through the chaos toward salvation.
The Scoured Path represents the route through demon-infested Paris that you must navigate. This path rebuilds itself with each run, mixing up room layouts, enemy placements, and reward locations to ensure no two attempts play identically. The roguelite structure means dying sends you back to the beginning, but permanent progression and unlocked upgrades carry forward to make subsequent runs more manageable.
Your ultimate goal involves finding the Sunless Gate, a mysterious gateway to heaven that disappeared during The Vanishing. Counterplay Games teases that discovering what truly happened to the world and uncovering the full history of the Armatus order will reveal themselves as you push deeper into the ruins across multiple runs. The narrative unfolds through environmental storytelling and fragments discovered during gameplay rather than lengthy cutscenes.
Combat Philosophy and Mechanics
Studio head Ming Zhang explained that Armatus blends modern firearms, supernatural powers, and melee combat into what the team calls frenetic, hyperkinetic action. Players start each run already heavily armed and powerful rather than weak and vulnerable like many roguelites. The philosophy centers on starting strong and ending godly, with constant power accumulation throughout each attempt until you possess tools to completely obliterate everything blocking your path.
The firearms arsenal includes SMGs, shotguns, assault rifles, and other conventional weapons that provide reliable damage output. These guns feel weighty and impactful based on the reveal trailer footage, emphasizing the satisfying feedback of bullets tearing through demonic flesh. Unlike pure action-RPGs where guns often feel like peashooters compared to abilities, Armatus treats firearms as legitimate primary damage dealers.
Celestial abilities layer supernatural power on top of the gunplay. Examples shown include holy fire that incinerates groups of enemies, time manipulation that slows everything in an area allowing precision headshots, telekinetic barriers that block incoming attacks, and area-of-effect devastation that clears entire rooms. These abilities recharge on cooldowns rather than consuming limited resources, encouraging frequent use rather than hoarding them for emergencies.
Melee combat enters the mix through weapons like the magical scythe glimpsed in the trailer. Senior writer Matt Cerami described players potentially becoming scythe-wielding butchers alongside other playstyle archetypes like walking bombs or cosmic assassins. The melee options provide close-range burst damage and crowd control complementing the ranged focus of firearms.
Deep Buildcraft and Synergies
Counterplay emphasizes that build experimentation sits at Armatus’s heart. Every ability can be altered, upgraded, modified, and combined to uncover devastating synergies. The developers specifically designed the systems to be breakable, meaning players can discover combinations so powerful they trivialize content if executed properly. Rather than viewing this as a flaw, Counterplay embraces it as emergent gameplay that rewards creativity and experimentation.
Passive enhancements modify how abilities function or provide constant bonuses. These might increase damage output, reduce cooldowns, add elemental effects, or change ability behavior entirely. Stacking multiple complementary passives creates multiplicative power scaling where two plus two equals ten rather than four.
Active blessings grant additional powers beyond your base kit. These could summon allies, create environmental hazards, buff your stats temporarily, or debuff enemies. Choosing which blessings to take during runs creates strategic decisions about whether to double down on existing strengths or shore up weaknesses.
Modifiers alter fundamental combat parameters. The trailer suggested options to become a walking bomb that explodes on taking damage, a cosmic assassin emphasizing stealth and critical hits, or other archetypes built around specific playstyles. These aren’t just cosmetic choices but fundamental shifts in how you approach encounters.
The goal is sharing busted builds with the community. Counterplay wants players posting videos showing ridiculous synergies they discovered, screenshots of absurd damage numbers, and theorycrafted combinations that break the game in creative ways. This embraces the chaos rather than trying to perfectly balance everything into boring uniformity.
Enemy Types and Boss Encounters
The demonic hordes include multiple threat levels requiring different tactical approaches. Regular enemies serve as cannon fodder, dangerous in groups but manageable individually. These demons attack in coordinated swarms attempting to overwhelm through numbers rather than individual strength.
Named demons function as elite enemies or mini-bosses scattered throughout runs. These larger, more powerful creatures possess unique attack patterns and significant health pools. Defeating them drops better rewards but requires careful play since they can quickly kill careless players.
Major boss encounters punctuate progress at key milestones. While the reveal trailer didn’t showcase specific bosses, the developers confirmed multi-phase fights testing everything learned throughout each run. These battles likely require mastering dodge timing, recognizing attack telegraphs, and exploiting brief vulnerability windows.
Environmental hazards add another layer of danger. Collapsing buildings, corrupted architecture, and reality-warping anomalies create dynamic battlefields where positioning matters. Smart players can potentially use environmental damage against enemies or trigger traps that clear rooms efficiently.
Meta-Progression Between Runs
Like all roguelites, Armatus features permanent progression that persists between attempts. Currencies collected during runs purchase upgrades that make future runs easier or unlock new build options. The specific systems haven’t been detailed, but expect the standard roguelite approach of incremental power increases that eventually make previously impossible sections manageable.
Unlocking new weapons, abilities, and modifiers expands the build possibility space. Early runs might offer limited options, but as you progress and spend currencies, the pool of potential combinations grows exponentially. This creates the roguelite loop where each death represents progress toward new toys to experiment with next time.
Narrative fragments and lore entries unlock as you reach deeper areas or complete specific objectives. Players interested in understanding what happened to Paris and the Armatus order have story incentives beyond pure mechanical progression.
Counterplay Games’ Return
This represents Counterplay’s first major project since Godfall, the PlayStation 5 and PC looter-slasher that launched alongside the console in November 2020. Godfall received mixed reviews, with critics praising its flashy combat and visuals while criticizing shallow progression, repetitive content, and live service elements that felt half-baked. The game peaked with moderate sales before player counts dropped sharply.
Matt Cerami acknowledged in the Xbox Wire article that development hasn’t been smooth, referencing internal hurdles the team overcame to reach this reveal. Reading between the lines, Counterplay likely went through restructuring or refocusing after Godfall’s lukewarm reception, shifting away from the games-as-service model toward self-contained roguelite design.
The change in approach feels deliberate. Where Godfall committed to ongoing seasonal content and endgame grinding, Armatus embraces roguelite replayability through randomization and build variety rather than content treadmills. This suits smaller teams better since creating procedural systems scales differently than handcrafting dozens of hours of bespoke missions.
Publisher Fictions provides external support and funding, likely reducing the pressure to implement aggressive monetization. The day one Game Pass deal ensures revenue regardless of direct sales, giving Counterplay breathing room to focus on quality over quarterly earnings targets.
Platform and Pricing Details
Armatus launches in 2026 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store. The simultaneous multi-platform release ensures broad accessibility without console exclusivity windows. Including Switch 2 confirms yet another third-party title for Nintendo’s next-generation hardware before the system even officially launches.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get day one access at no additional cost beyond their subscription. This represents significant value for the Game Pass ecosystem while providing Counterplay guaranteed revenue that reduces commercial risk.
Pricing hasn’t been announced for standalone purchases. As a mid-tier third-person action game from an independent studio, expect pricing below AAA standards but above pure indie levels. Somewhere between thirty and fifty dollars seems reasonable based on comparable titles.
The 2026 window leaves uncertainty about whether this means early year, summer, fall, or late 2026. Given the polished state of the reveal trailer and the mention of overcoming development hurdles, spring or summer 2026 seems plausible, though publishers often pad release windows conservatively.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Armatus release?
Armatus launches in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store. A specific date within 2026 hasn’t been announced yet.
Who is developing Armatus?
Counterplay Games, the studio behind 2020’s Godfall, is developing Armatus with publisher support from Fictions.
What type of game is Armatus?
Armatus is a third-person roguelite shooter combining firearms, celestial abilities, and melee combat with procedurally generated runs through demon-infested Paris.
Is Armatus on Xbox Game Pass?
Yes, Armatus will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate when it launches in 2026.
What is the story of Armatus?
You play as the last supernatural warrior of an ancient order searching for the Sunless Gate, a lost gateway to heaven, through Paris after an apocalyptic event called The Vanishing allowed demons to overrun the world.
Is Armatus single-player or multiplayer?
Based on available information, Armatus appears to be a single-player roguelite focused on build experimentation and replayability rather than cooperative or competitive multiplayer.
What platforms is Armatus coming to?
Armatus launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC through Steam and Microsoft Store. It will not release on previous generation consoles.
Conclusion
Armatus represents Counterplay Games’ attempt to apply lessons learned from Godfall’s mixed reception by shifting to roguelite structure that emphasizes replayability through build variety rather than live service grind. The focus on breakable, chaotic combat systems where players discover devastating synergies aligns with successful roguelites like Hades and Dead Cells while the third-person shooter perspective differentiates it from the crowded indie roguelite space. Whether Counterplay can stick the landing after their previous stumble depends on execution, but the core concept of blending firearms, supernatural powers, and demonic Paris creates an appealing pitch. For Game Pass subscribers, the day one inclusion makes it an easy recommendation to at least try when it arrives in 2026. Just don’t expect a walking simulator through the Louvre.