Proximity Chat-Based Horror Co-Op, Don’t Scream Together, Out December 3; Devs Set Low Price Point
- Don’t Scream Together launches Dec. 3 on PC for $7.99 ($4.99 during launch week), offering a fully overhauled, co-op-focused version of the original voice-based horror hit.
- Proximity chat is central to the experience – any loud noise (even laughs, coughs, or farts) can trigger a restart or turn the culprit into the hunter, depending on mode.
- DCC maintains its “fun first” ethos, keeping the price low, offering upgrade perks to owners of the first game, and continuing updates on Hypercharge: Unboxed alongside this release.
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We’re All in This Together
Digital Cybercherries (DCC), the small UK-based team behind Hypercharge: Unboxed, has revealed that its next game, Don’t Scream Together, is set for release on Dec. 3 on PC. It’s also going to be sold for a very low $7.99.
Don’t Scream Together is a new version of Don’t Scream, DCC’s initial foray into voice-based horror co-op. However, rather than an update, it’s a complete overhaul with extra features, including new locations and game modes.
“Don’t Scream was a viral sensation, selling over 100k units in its first week, but the biggest feedback we heard was that people wanted to play with their friends,” said Joe Henson, Creative Gameplay and Marketing Director at Digital Cybercherries.
“Don’t Scream Together finally adds this much requested feature, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The first game was a proof-of-concept experiment, but we’ve had over two years to carefully hone in on what worked, what didn’t, and what we could do to enhance the experience. Now it’s not simply a co-op expansion, but an entirely new experience that will remain fresh for returning players as well as newcomers.”
Fun First, Profits Second
DCC has been very vocal in the past about its ethos, in that the studio makes games because they’re fun, not because it’s desperate for a huge number of players. This came about after people called out the studio’s multiplayer FPS Hypercharge: Unboxed for “failing” after launch on PS5 earlier this year; DCC responded with “We made the game we always wanted as kids. And we did it. That’s our success.”
The studio is following through on this ethos with Don’t Scream Together’s release pricing, as it wants to give as many gamers as possible a chance to play it. “Don’t Scream Together will launch at $7.99, with a first-week discount bringing it to about $4.99. We realize not everyone has room in their budget right now, so we’ve tried to price it in a way that respects that,” DCC posted on X. It also followed up on this in its official Discord channel by noting that gamers who own the original Don’t Scream can upgrade and receive free hunter cosmetics for $2.72 at launch.
This news follows a raft of releases by big and small studios that skew cheaper, following Hollow Knight: Silksong’s controversial $19.99 release in September. Whether Team Cherry intended to or not, it started a trend of reasonable launch prices that include multiplayer PvPvE ARC Raiders releasing for $39.99 with zero microtransactions, creepy slot roguelike CloverPit for $9.99, and fantasy bullet hell brickbreaker BALL x PIT for $14.99.
Don’t Fart Together
As for Don’t Scream Together’s main selling point: the game uses proximity voice chat so players are encouraged to work together to escape creepy forests and other spooky locations. However, DCC warns that the microphone “may flag laughing, coughs, sneezes, burps, and farts as a scream.”
If someone does scream (or fart too loudly) then one of two things can happen, depending on the core game mode: the game restarts and everyone has to escape all over again, or the person who made the loud noise disappears and reappears as the hunter.
As well as escaping, players have additional missions that involve finding hidden secrets, such as mysterious relics and even brand new locations (although DCC is keeping quiet on what this might be). Henson has been active on Discord to help clarify what people can expect, and why DCC feels a $4.99 initial price is more than fair.
“I try to make sure people know it’s not like a traditional horror game with deep puzzles/objectives/survival systems. I like to think of it more as like ‘Five Nights at Freddies but in A Quiet Place setting.’ it’s super focused, super simple at the core, but there IS more depth under it (symbols, batteries, traps, hunters, secrets, all that fun stuff).”
Henson also noted that while the game has been optimized for four players, it is possible to play with more people (and solo).
Meanwhile, DCC’s main game, Hypercharge: Unboxed, isn’t being ignored. It’s been receiving regular updates across all platforms, with a new one on the way: “A new game mode is coming to Hypercharge, along with a new map and unlocks. I’ll share some stuff soon!” Henson posted on X on Nov. 30.
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