Abubakar Salim, founder of Surgent Studios, unveiled the gameplay for the live-action horror game Dead Take.
The game is coming for Steam and the Epic Games Store on July 31, and this one doesn’t feature Salim, a famous actor who is one of the stars of HBO’s House of the Dragon. Rather, Salim is the creative director at Surgent Studios, which he started in 2019.
Surgent previously made the side-scrolling Metroidvania game Tales of Kenzara: Zau, which came out in April 2024. The game didn’t do as well as expected, so the company tried to pivot to a follow-up game, Project Uso. But that didn’t get funding. Layoffs ensued in July 2024, and it looked like the firm would go under.
But the team announced funding in a deal with Pocketpair Publishing in January 2025, and it announced it was working on the horror game instead. While Zau was focused on a tale of grief, after Salim lost his own father, the new game was more on the stress of being an actor. It is called Dead Take.
“The question is how far will someone go to succeed in the entertainment industry,” Salim said in a press briefing.
Today, Salim announced the details of Dead Take, a $15 game with a live-action film-like style. The single-player title looks good and it is built in Unreal Engine 5.
For Dead Take, Salim didn’t have to stray far from his acting life, as this one is personal in its inspiration as well — but perhaps in a more comedic way. It’s a psychological horror game about the pain inflicted by Hollywood moguls on actors. (In interview, I asked Salim if he ever had some really bad directors or producers. He smiled and said most of those he worked with were great, with one exception).
In this case, you play as an actor. Your friend Vinny is missing. You show up at a luxurious and haunting mansion that looks a bit like it belongs in The Evil Within. It was the site of a glamorous party the night before, but now it’s quiet. Then you get some instructions from a mad host, who is like a Hollywood boss.
Dead Take casts players as an actor (Neil Newbon as Chase Lowry) searching for his friend (Ben Starr as Vinny Monroe) gone missing after a lavish Hollywood party. As they navigate escape-room-style puzzles and splice together videos they find along the way, players will uncover the darkest secrets behind the entertainment industry’s glittering facade.
Then you have to start solving “escape room” puzzles to get through the various rooms in the mansion to find your friend, who was last seen at the mansion. A legendary producer named Duke seems to be losing it at the house.
Your search reveals a number of USB drives and memory cards containing corrupted video files. Some audition tapes can be spliced together to reveal what really happened within these walls. This mechanic of splicing leads to new contexts and clues.
The house is watching. It seems to haunt your steps. You have to piece together what really happened last night as you discover a side of the entertainment industry only discussed in whispers.
Alongside the release date, the full lineup of cast members were announced including Jane Perry (Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon Age: The Veilguard), and Alanah Pearce (Cyberpunk 2077, V/H/S/Beyond).
Dead Take’s cast also includes cameo appearances from Laura Bailey (The Last of Us: Part II, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2), Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth), Sam Lake(Alan Wake II, Max Payne), Travis Willingham (Marvel Rivals, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order), and CDawgVA (Honkai: Star Rail, Card-En-Ciel).
Salim said he liked creating a safe space for the actors to perform their art, improvise and help improve the narrative.
Your search reveals a number of USB drives and memory cards containing corrupted video files. Some can be spliced together to reveal what really happened within these walls. Try not to lose yourself in your work.
While the threat of violence looms large in the mansion, it’s not exactly a blood fest. Rather, Salim thinks of it as psychological horror, rather than physical horror.
The house is watching. It seems to haunt your steps. Piece together what really happened last night as you discover a side of the entertainment industry only discussed in whispers.
The cruelty. The sordid gossip. The auditions gone wrong. The shadowy figure with the power to make or break your career. There’s only one way to guarantee your success: feed me something real.
Salim advises playing with pen and paper and a good set of headphones.