Firmament: Everything We Know

Cyan Worlds, a team of visionaries who are well-versed in developing intricate puzzle games, is working to bring a new project—Firmament—to PC and iOS in 2023. Like Myst, yet another one of its critically acclaimed series, players will be transported to a mythical world that's both bursting at the seams with curiosities and idyllic realms, puzzles and sophisticated landscapes. And the best part is, it's heading our way over the next few months, with a release date of May 18, 2023 finally in the book.

As we're still a few months away from seeing its PC launch, it does mean there are a few minor details that Cyan Worlds has yet to announce. That said, we have managed to scrape the barrel of all the major details since the studio first lifted the veil back in 2019 via its Kickstarter campaign. Interested in learning more? Here's everything you need to know about it.

What Is Firmament?

Firmament is an upcoming puzzle-adventure game by Cyan Words, a studio best known for its myriad of award-winning puzzlers including Myst, Riven, Obduction, and URU. In a similar structure to its previous games, the VR-compatible title will center its universe around a plateau of fantasy-like realms—vastly unique regions that each offer mysteries to solve, puzzles to crack, and heritages to decipher.

Story

“The game of Firmament is a resplendent, magical, journey — a monumental voyage through four diverse and curious realms, working in concert with an ever-present, clockwork companion, and the support and instruction of a long-dead, ethereal mentor. Everything is not as it seems.”

Gameplay

If you've slumped through one of Cyan Worlds' games before, then you'll probably know that the studio favors the point-and-click format. Well, Firmament isn't all that different, as it brings mostly the same mechanics to the table, but ultimately tweaks a few of them to accomodate VR motion controls. Apart from that, though, the gameplay revolves mostly around exploring unique realms, collecting data, and solving puzzles.

As with any game that lean heavily into the intricately designed puzzles department, Firmament will include tasks that require examining key objects, locating secret areas, and backtracking to certain points of interest to progress deeper into the story. Fact is, it's a puzzle game through and through, which means you'll have to be an avid solver with a serious eye for hidden details to be able to squeeze all there is to squeeze out of it.

Development

Cyan Worlds launched its Kickstarter campaign for Firmament back in April 2019. At first, the game was billed as a puzzle game for PC and iOS devices, at which point it was given a 2020 launch window to work towards. However, due to a series of in-house issues, the release was later nudged back to 2021, and then again to 2023. It will now (hopefully) launch on May 18, 2023 in its standard edition, and in its VR-compatible one.

“As a result of discussions with key team member and staff, Cyan is making the important decision to move the launch of Firmament to Q1 2023,” the studio announced back in 2022. “The game is very closed to complete, and the development is rapidly approaching its final phase.”

“To our Backers, Fans, and Friends, thank you for your continuing patience and support. Your enthusiasm and excitement lifts our spirits daily. We cannot wait to share launch day news with you in (early!) 2023.”

Trailer

So, has there been any sneak previews since Cyan Worlds first brought the project to the table? In short, yes. Matter of fact, thanks to its Kickstarter campaign, there have actually been a number of trailers drop since 2019. But if you're interested in catching a proper look at the upcoming puzzler, then you'll definitely want to gravitate more towards the extended announcement the studio made a few months back.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Cyan Worlds will be bringing the VR-compatible puzzler to PC and iOS on May 18, 2023. It'll be coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation VR2, too. However, as it currently stands, the studio has yet to announce a release date for the Sony platforms, suggesting only that it could be in Q3 2023 or later.

As the game will be VR-ready, PC users can expect to catch Firmament on Meta Rift & Rift S, Meta Quest 2, HTC Vive, and Valve Index. Again, it'll be on PlayStation VR2, too, but at a later date following the initial launch on May 18th.

At the time of writing, Cyan Words hasn't properly announced any special editions outside of its standard version. That said, you can pledge to its Kickstarter campaign and receive a number of exclusive perks and benefits here.

For more information on the Firmament launch, you can follow the official social handle here. If anything interesting pops up between now and its May release, we'll be sure to let you know all of the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Firmament when it drops later this year? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here or down in the comments below.