Ten years after its debut in psychological horror, Layers of Fear returns with a new opus. Bloober Team officially lifted the lid on Layers of Fear 3 during a video presentation celebrating the franchise’s tenth anniversary. An expected announcement, especially after the critical success of the Silent Hill 2 remake developed by the Polish studio.
The reveal comes a few weeks after a mysterious teaser released by the team. Now confirmed, Layers of Fear 3 is added to a series that already includes Layers of Fear (2016), Layers of Fear 2 (2021) and the remake released in 2023. For the moment, no release date or platform have been announced.
A revelation orchestrated for the 10th anniversary of the series
The announcement was made by Piotr Babieno, CEO of Bloober Team, in a video celebrating the franchise’s anniversary. He thanked players for keeping the series “close to their hearts all these years” before officially revealing the third installment.
The Layers of Fear franchise has established itself as one of the recent pillars of psychological horror. The first episode, launched in 2016, was notable for its approach centered on environmental storytelling and the altered perception of the protagonist. The second opus, in 2021, continued this exploration, while the 2023 remake revisited the whole thing with notable technical improvements. With Layers of Fear 3, Bloober Team seems to want to extend this trajectory.
An enigmatic and symbolic trailer
The first trailer revealed adopts a live-action format. We see a man reading “The Sick Rose” by William Blake in a large room. Around him, several paintings attract attention. One represents a woman, possibly the famous “sick rose”. Another shows a humanoid figure, mouth sewn shut, appearing to be in pain. A spectral shape crosses the stage before a painting collapses.
The character talks about her “boyfriend” who “is trying to help” but who has not yet unraveled the mysteries of the afterlife. The sequence ends with a warning pronounced on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, then with the turning of an hourglass. The game’s official slogan then appears: “Some things never leave the walls. They only learn to wait.” This sentence suggests a thematic continuity with the previous opuses, where the places themselves become vectors of trauma and memory.
Bloober Team on multiple fronts
Layers of Fear 3 arrives in a particularly active context for Bloober Team. The Polish studio has recently seen renewed attention thanks to the Silent Hill 2 remake developed for Konami. At the same time, several projects are underway. Among them, more modest games developed by the subsidiary Broken Mirror Games, including a Nintendo Switch exclusive provisionally named Project M. Bloober Team has also signed self-published titles like Cronos: The New Dawn and The Medium, consolidating its reputation in the field of narrative horror.
What we know and what remains to be discovered
At this point, little concrete information has been released about the gameplay or structure of Layers of Fear 3. No official platform or launch window has been confirmed. The trailer focuses above all on atmosphere and symbolism. True to the identity of the series, the game seems to be part of an introspective and disturbing exploration. While waiting for more details, Layers of Fear 3 joins the list of major projects in development at Bloober Team. After a decade of evolution, the franchise is preparing to write a new chapter.