The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person mystery game focused on
exploration and discovery. The game is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation4 and Nintendo Switch.

Scroll down for details on the game and how to buy.

You play the game as Paul Prospero, an occult-minded detective who receives a disturbing letter from Ethan Carter. Realizing the boy is in grave danger, Paul arrives at Ethan’s home of Red Creek Valley, where things turn out to be even worse than he imagined. Ethan has vanished in the wake of a brutal murder, which Paul quickly discerns might not be the only local murder worth looking into.

Inspired by the weird fiction (and other tales of the macabre) from the early twentieth century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter aims to significantly evolve immersive storytelling in games. While it features a private detective and quite a few mental challenges, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is not an especially puzzle-ridden game. Our focus is on atmosphere, mood, and the essential humanity of our characters.

Still, the discoveries won’t happen on their own, or without your help. Using both Paul’s supernatural skill of being able to communicate with the dead, and your own powers of observation, you will discover the mystery behind a trail of corpses, the roots of a dark ancient force lurking in Red Creek Valley, and the fate of a missing boy.

Explore and interact with the beautiful yet ominous world of Red Creek Valley, which was created with the use of revolutionary photogrammetry technology that allows for nearly photorealistic environments.

Communicate with the dead and see how they died in order to gather clues that help you piece together the truth behind Ethan’s disappearance — and the fate of his family.

Experience, in non-linear fashion, a story that combines the pleasures of pulp, private eye, and horror fiction, all of it inspired by writers such as Raymond Chandler, Algernon Blackwood, Stefan Grabinski, and H. P. Lovecraft.

Conduct the investigation on your own terms and at your own pace. The game contains no combat of any kind, and a few scary bits in the game are less about terror and more about clammy unease.

VIDEOS

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter-CommentedGameplay_t
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter TEASER

PlayStation 4 Trailer

Commented Gameplay

Gamescom 2014 Trailer

Original Reveal Teaser

YouTube (alt. OST)

  • All told, my experience with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter left me with far more questions than answers. But you know what? I'm alright with that.

    This is a mystery game, and clearly one meant to immerse players in a creepy atmosphere. The mind races as you play it, and I'm eager to let it race some more.

    Shaun McInnis
    Shaun McInnisGamespot
  • I walked away from my time with Ethan Carter in a strange haze, and I mean that in the best possible way.

    The world I’d just visited was gorgeous and serene, while simultaneously drenched in melancholy, violence, and hints of some sort of supernatural menace in the air.

    Marty Sliva
    Marty SlivaIGN

You can purchase the PC version of the game on Steam or GOG.

The console (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch) versions are available as a digital download from their respective e-shops.

We are an independent game developer located in Warsaw, Poland.

Our previous studio was People Can Fly and we made Painkiller and Bulletstorm.