The Medium is a psychological horror game slated as an exclusive for Microsoft on the upcoming ninth-generation consoles Xbox Series X and S along with Microsoft Windows via the Xbox app. The Medium is being developed by Bloober, who has made several horror games, most notably Layers of Fear. The game follows a protagonist who is also a medium in which he uses his abilities to navigate the spirit universe along with solving problems in the real world. The protagonist will face off against a creature called the Maw, who there are little details about, but will likely be drawn from Polish-Lithuanian mythology, which the team has derived its art and music style from. The Medium features a patent in a gameplay mechanic that the developers have described as dual-reality gameplay. While the details of this gameplay and mechanic have not been shown off much, and the rest of the game falls more in line with a traditional third-person game, possibly leaning into the walking simulator style that was used in Layers of Fear and Layers of Fear 2.
The Medium boasts a score composed of industry veteran Akira Yamaoka, who is best known for his work on the Silent Hill series, along with the in house Polish composer Arkadiusz Reikowski, who has done the soundtrack for Layers of Fear and Layers of Fear 2.
Due to cited complications from the development of COVID-19, the Polish developers Bloober team has decided to delay the game from late December to January 28th. COVID-19 has pushed the team to work remotely, a shift that has delayed aspects that can only be done in person, such as motion capture. While the spread has relaxed initially, Europe has started to experience the beginnings of a second wave. Bloober promises that the extra time will allow the team to develop The Medium into a genre-pushing game.