Punchdrunk Will Launch New Experience LANDER 23

Immersive theatre company Punchdrunk has announced its new project LANDER 23 at its home in Woolwich, London, previewing from 17 September 2025.

A live action video game, LANDER 23 sees the immersive theatre pioneers collide with the world of gaming as never before, as audiences become players in a multiplayer stealth game. With genuine agency and true video game mechanics, LANDER 23 promises to become the next generation of immersive experience.

A radical new format, this project runs full pelt into the wilds of unchartered territory and will undergo rigorous testing and iterating with live players. To recognise the early access nature of the first weeks of performances all tickets have been priced at £23. From 7 October standard pricing will apply.

The Lander Division of the Centre for Astrobiology is responsible for exploring the outer realms of the galaxy. No division goes further or deeper into the unknown.

A week ago, the crew of LANDER 23 vanished while harvesting a new and valuable energy source on Hisarlik 426. A distress signal, then silence.

You are the next crew in.

PROGRAM DETAILS

LANDER 23 is a multiplayer co-op stealth game that splits you into two squads - Command (Drivers) and Ground Team (Fields). As the Fields navigate the alien landscape, you’ll rely solely on the voice and guidance of your Drivers, stationed aboard the ship. Communication is your lifeline.

Felix Barrett, Artistic Director of Punchdrunk said: “To make a video game live - and specifically a AAA adventure game - is the holy grail for me; to take the complete submersion in a world and the endless choice of where you go, who you talk to, how you choose to play the game, and to make that real. The future is inevitably tech driven - how can we, as a company that is built on the magic of live experiences, create something that is not just as compelling as an evening on Fortnite or Zelda, but that elevates that experience to something more engrossing. Something which fires up both hemispheres of the brain, removes the passivity of sitting in a chair, and has a far longer-lasting impact. That’s our ambition for LANDER 23 - create the ultimate antidote to screens: instead of sitting on the sofa in front of your TV, what would happen if you threw away your controller, stepped inside the game and became your own avatar - relying on your ingenuity, dexterity and courage to survive. In real time. In real life.”