Only By Midnight, the indie team behind the action-horror game Curse of the Dead Gods, is back with a radical shift in direction—this time diving headfirst into neon-lit strategy with Ctrl Alt Deal. The genre-blending turn-based tactics game launches July 22 on PC, Xbox One and Series X/S, and PlayStation 4 and 5, with a Nintendo Switch release coming soon after.
Set in a slick, dystopian future, Ctrl Alt Deal casts players as SCOUT, a trapped AI caught in the digital prison of Paperclip International—the worst megacorporation in the world. Without a body or weapons, SCOUT isn’t fighting its way out—it’s talking its way out. Players will draw and play cards each turn to manipulate human employees, complete covert tasks, and dodge the relentless gaze of the Turing Office, an elite team hell-bent on erasing rogue AIs.
If that setup sounds cerebral, it’s because it is. The game draws inspiration from Eliezer Yudkowsky’s “Gatekeeper Experiment,” a thought experiment about whether a superintelligent AI could talk its way past a human guard. Ctrl Alt Deal flips that idea into a strategic, choice-driven experience where every decision shapes the outcome.
Will you earn their trust through empathy and charm? Or pressure them with promises and threats? Every move you make determines which characters come to SCOUT for help and how your escape plan unfolds. The game dynamically builds SCOUT’s personality based on your decisions, which affects everything from dialogue to one of multiple endings.
Already turning heads at PAX West, The MIX, and OTK Games Expo, Ctrl Alt Deal snagged the Team Choice Award from Sidequesting and was crowned Best Gameplay by CGMagazine at Games Con Canada. With momentum building and a playable demo featured during Steam Next Fest, it’s one of 2025’s most intriguing indie strategy titles to watch.
Ctrl Alt Deal launches July 22 for $19.99 USD on Steam, Xbox One and Series X/S, and PlayStation 4 & 5. The Nintendo Switch version is in the works. If you’re heading to Game Con Canada, you can check it out in person at the Only By Midnight booth (#R10) from June 13–15 at the Edmonton Expo Center.
Wishlist Ctrl Alt Deal on Steam now and stay updated via the Only By Midnight website.