Bogdan's Cross is a game about a Templar knight struggling with his faith, only he's a literal giant teddy bear

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Bogdan's Cross is an action-adventure tale of a humble shepherd turned legendary Templar knight amidst the terrible time of the Crusades. "Traverse stunning landscapes, uncover hidden tales and mysteries, and confront shadows of doubt and despair," the Steam page says, before slipping in the load-bearing caveat: "While grounded in historical accuracy, the game takes creative liberties to weave a captivating fictional narrative."

And yes, it sure does, because as we saw in the new trailer that appeared in today's Future Games Show, Bogdan is not just a Templar, he's also a teddy bear.

And I don't mean a large, cuddly guy with a heart of gold—I mean, literally a teddy bear. Quite possibly the grimmest teddy I've ever seen, yes, but that's understandable. This bear has seen some shit, and it's left him changed: He'll deal with "internal struggles and moments of faith, redemption, and transformation" as he embarks upon "an epic story filled with unexpected twists and profound themes."

Bogdan's Cross trailer still - closeup of Bogdan the Templar teddy bear — (Image credit: Federico Moreno Breser)

As a videogame backdrop, The Crusades is fraught with peril: A period of brutal religious warfare that echoes to this very day. To some extent, it sounds like Bogdan's Cross will sidestep at least some of that potential thorniness—enemies will include "sinister dark entities and strange, otherworldly creatures that lurk in the shadows," and Bogdan will wield special abilities unlocked by ancient artifacts—but otherwise developer Federico Moreno Breser appears to be playing it straight. Bogdan's extremely boopable nose notwithstanding, this is clearly not a cute, "cozy" game.

It's a combination I find fascinating. I'm not a Templar junkie by any means but the visual style of Bogdan's Cross is immediately appealing, and I find the juxtaposition of cuddly forest animals and a mournful, bloody world torn apart by religious strife intensely intriguing. A big part of me just wants to know, why? What's especially curious is that there is literally no reference to Bogdan being a bear in the Steam listing: Take away the screens and video clips, and Bogdan's Cross sounds like a straight-up story of a knight questioning his faith. It's enough to make me wonder, "Am I missing something here?"

But no, I'm pretty sure I'm not.

Bogdan's Cross key art - closeup of Bogdan the Templar teddy bear beside the Bogdan's Cross logo

(Image credit: Federico Moreno Breser)

That is 100% a teddy bear with a sword.

I'm definitely eager to get my hands on Bogdan's Cross, to have a better understanding of how it will handle the historical setting and why (why?) he's a teddy bear, but that opportunity is still some time off: A release date hasn't been announced but it's currently not expected to be out until sometime in 2025. For now, you can wishlist it on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

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.