Mortal Shell 2 Launches August 20 — Faster, Harder, and a Lot More Weapon

Developer Cold Symmetry has locked in an August 20 release date for Mortal Shell 2, the standalone follow-up to 2020’s surprise-hit soulslike. The game is heading to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on the same day.

Where the first Mortal Shell was a tight, experimental take on the genre (short, punishing, and built around a handful of distinct “shells,” essentially character classes with different stats and abilities), the sequel is aiming much bigger. Cold Symmetry describes it as a “substantial expansion” on every front: a faster, more aggressive combat system, deeper weapon design, more upgrade paths, and an emphasis on free-form exploration across a compact but interconnected open world.

The original Mortal Shell carved out a niche by stripping the soulslike formula down to its essentials — no sprawling map, no endless build variety, just tight arenas and deliberate combat. Mortal Shell 2 keeps the hardcore edge but opens things up. The “compact open world” framing suggests Cold Symmetry wants more room for player choice and discovery without losing the focused tension that made the first game work.

“We wanted the sequel to hit harder and move faster,” the studio said in the announcement. The tagline, “Their flesh, your blade,” telegraphs the same grimdark aesthetic, but the gameplay trailers show bigger enemy encounters and multi-phase boss fights that the original never attempted, along with proper environmental traversal.

Pricing is straightforward: ¥198 for the Steam standard edition in China, or ¥228 for the Devoted Edition, which unlocks the game 72 hours early and includes an Obsidian skin set. The game supports Simplified Chinese interface and subtitles out of the box. Western pricing has not been announced yet, but comparisons to the original’s $29.99 launch price suggest a similar ballpark.

The original Mortal Shell sold over a million copies within its first year — impressive for a debut from a small studio. Cold Symmetry has had six years to build on that foundation, and August 20 will show whether they can turn a cult hit into a mainstream one.