Paris, France - French independent game studio COVEN (representative work "Masters of Light") recently announced its new masterpiece - "HAUNTED", an asymmetrical cooperative horror game with "communication" as the core mechanism.Players will be placed in a Victorian dollhouse full of mysterious power and experience an unprecedented psychological fear and survival challenge.The official simultaneously released a Chinese pilot trailer and confirmed that the game will support Simplified Chinese.
In "HAUNTED", players must survive through collaboration and communication, otherwise they will die alone.
● One player plays "The Overseer" and controls the mysterious doll house from the outside;
● Up to three other players become "The Explorers", trapped in a reflection of reality - the nightmarish Woodman Manor.
Supervisors and explorers need to maintain voice communication and share clues in order to solve randomly generated puzzles, avoid the pursuit of malicious entities, and uncover the tragic truth behind the Woodman family.
Each playthrough will present a completely different layout and horror experience.As the room structure changes, the puzzles are reorganized, and the psychological pressure escalates, the original exploration gradually evolves into a nightmare of sanity collapse - even players in the "outside world" are not immune.
"HAUNTED brings the 'tension of communication under pressure' into the realm of horror games." ⸺ COVEN co-founder and game director
Céline Tricart said."It's a story about teamwork, fear, and the eerie connection between those who watch and those who are trapped."
The game art combines the strong visual contrast between Victorian Gothic horror and the Italian thriller "Giallo" to create a beautiful and weird atmosphere.Sources of inspiration include: cooperative games such as Hereditary, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes."HAUNTED" aims to create a new multiplayer horror experience with "communication as the core": Only through communication can you survive.
"HAUNTED" is planned to be launched as an early access experience on the PC platform in October 2026, and the console and VR cross-platform version will be launched later.
Game summary
Game name: HAUNTED
Development / Publisher: COVEN (France)
Type: Asymmetrical cooperative horror/puzzle survival Number of players: 2‒4 (online cooperation)
Platform: PC (early access), console and VR versions will be released later. Release date: Halloween 2026 (Early Access)
Game introduction
HAUNTED is an asymmetrical cooperative horror game.One player controls the dollhouse full of mysterious powers from the outside, while up to three players explore, solve puzzles and survive in its reality reflection - Woodman Manor.Players must work together to solve puzzles, escape supernatural entities, and uncover the dark past of the estate and the Woodman family.Each round of experience is unique, with random rooms, changing puzzles and gradually escalating psychological pressure.
Game features
●Asymmetric cooperation mechanism: 1 supervisor + up to 3 explorers - communication is your only survival weapon.
● High replayability: Programmed layout and randomized puzzles ensure every experience is different.
● "The Sight": Special abilities can reveal hidden clues - but the cost is high.
●Dual reality gameplay: Solving puzzles spans two spaces, and actions in the dollhouse will affect the nightmare in the manor.
● Psychological horror experience: Inspired by "Hereditary", "The Haunted Manor" and Giallo style art.
● Tragic Family Legend: Piece together the secrets of the Woodman family and the curse that binds their souls.
Inspiration and influence
"HAUNTED" is inspired by many classic collaborations and horror works, integrating psychological tension, communication challenges and visual aesthetics:
● "Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes"
●《Phasmophobia》
● "We Were Here"
● "The Haunting of Bly Manor"
● Art style inspiration: "Suspiria", director: Dario Argento
development plan
● Public beta demo: second quarter of 2026
●PC Early Access Version: Launched on Halloween 2026
● Full version of console and VR cross-platform: to be released later
About COVEN
COVEN is an independent game studio founded by women headquartered in Paris, France, focusing on game experiences that integrate narrative and interactive innovation.
