New Psychological Horror Game Imprinted to Release in 2026

Cobalt Lane, a new team of veteran game developers headquartered in Munich, has officially announced their debut title, “Imprinted”.

The game is a PC-exclusive psychological horror audio ghost story slated to launch on Steam in 2026.

The announcement, which included a trailer and initial screenshots, was made public on January 12, 2026.

“Imprinted” places players in the role of Vincent Brandt, a uniquely talented sound engineer specialized in restoring heavily damaged audio recordings.

Brandt’s professional history spans from rescuing botched live performances for musicians to aiding police with forensic audio evidence.

However, a new job takes him by surprise: a request for a forensic specialist to restore corrupted cassette tapes from the late 1970s.

These recordings belong to Viola Fossati, an experimental musician who disappeared under suspicious circumstances and was reportedly involved in the occult.

The core of the game’s narrative focuses on the mystery of Viola Fossati.

As Brandt meticulously works to exhuming her musical body of work, tape by tape, he begins to drift into a spiral of creative obsession.

The process of recovering her art leads him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories concerning her life and obsessions, unsettling found footage discovered on obscure online forums, and even confronting ghosts from his own past.

“Imprinted” is designed as a highly detailed simulation, or a “fake OS” game, which aims to fully immerse the player in Brandt’s life.

Players explore the protagonist’s history by booting up his personal computer, which runs on a simulated environment called ArdesiaOS, promoted as “The Operating System For The Ages.”

Within this operating system, dozens of fully functioning programs can be used, including media players, the Oneiric browser, and a realistic terminal interface.

Players will rummage through Vince’s old files, photos, and musical fragments, and they will even take on his persona in chat messages and emails to shape his relationships with colleagues and friends.

Beyond the forensic investigation, the game incorporates a creative element where players can determine the outcome of Vince’s artistic process.

As Brandt delves deeper into his unconscious mind and the dark side of creativity, players can liberate song ideas sleeping inside of him.

By combining his rough material, players will record their own versions of his music and lyrics, ultimately making Vincent’s songs their own as he nears the truth about Viola Fossati.

The announcement trailer is now available to watch: