Invariant is a survival horror FPS from Faros Game Studio, set inside a remote, technologically advanced Antarctic research facility where something has gone catastrophically wrong. The project is being developed by Josip Makjanić, an independent developer and former Serious Sam level designer at Croteam, with creative roots in F.E.A.R., Half-Life, the original Resident Evil games and the paranoid atmosphere of John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Josip Makjanić of Faros Game Studio has officially re-announced Invariant, a survival horror FPS now in full production. Makjanić previously worked at Croteam as a level designer, which gives the project a direct connection to the old-school FPS tradition rather than a purely nostalgic pose. Invariant is clearly looking back to the shooters and survival horror games of the 1990s and 2000s, but its tone is colder and more claustrophobic than a simple retro throwback: first-person combat, resource pressure, logical puzzles and environmental storytelling are all being folded into one isolated facility.
The game takes place in a remote Antarctic research station after a catastrophic incident cuts it off from the outside world. According to its Steam page, players will have to survive hostile creatures, failing systems and the growing paranoia consuming the facility, moving through abandoned laboratories, frozen maintenance sectors and experimental research zones hidden deep beneath the ice. Faros Game Studio is also being very direct about the inspirations: the firefights and tension of F.E.A.R., the science-fiction confinement of Half-Life, the survival horror roots of early Resident Evil and the Antarctic distrust of The Thing all sit inside the same design frame.
The project has also gone through a major technical shift. Invariant moved from Unity to Godot during development, and it is planned with native Linux support alongside Windows. On Steam, the release date is still listed as to be announced, with the game presented as a single-player action-adventure title featuring English interface, full audio and subtitles. The current system requirements suggest that Faros Game Studio is not chasing hardware-punishing spectacle first, but a broader PC release built around atmosphere, pacing and survival pressure.
Makjanić says funding is secured and production is underway, which matters for an independent horror FPS trying to do more than exist as a mood board and a Steam page. The first developer diary explains the project’s origins, while the Steam page is already available for wishlisting. Invariant does not have a final date yet, but its pitch is already sharp enough: Antarctic isolation, armed survival, limited supplies, escalating paranoia and an older FPS design sensibility where layout, tempo and place matter as much as the weapons in the player’s hands.
Source: Faros Game Studio press material, Steam
