First-person sci-fi horror game Routine gets a release "window" trailer

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I've been looking forward to Routine since mid-2012, when the first teaser video debuted at Gamescom. At the time it was slated for release in 2013, a date that developer Lunar Software acknowledged at the end of 2015 "clearly underestimated" the amount of work necessary to actually get the thing finished. But today the studio dropped a new trailer, and more importantly, it comes with a release window of March 2017.

Routine is a "first-person horror-exploration game set on an abandoned moon base," that looks like nothing so much as System Shock 2 and Amnesia, filtered through a 70s-era sci-fi lens. It's hard to say for certain, though. The website at routinegame.com provides very little in the way of information—a few screens and an old trailer are pretty much it—and the developers haven't exactly been conscientious about keeping people up to speed.

"If you follow us on twitter, you may have noticed that we were hinting towards a late 2016 release," the studio said in its first update since December 2015. "We have been working like crazy to try and hit that mark without compromising the quality of the game and at this rate, we would be releasing way too close to the Steam Christmas Sales (which would be devastating for us). In the end we felt like it was best to just not rush things at this final hurdle."

A "window" is not a date, but it's a start, and after waiting this long I'll take it. Lunar said it hopes to get a few more updates posted between now and then, "as we stamp of content and prepare to finally share Routine with everyone."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.