New Halloween game has players stalking prey to ignite Michael Myers' bloodlust

The new horror game based on John Carpenter's Halloween will have similar game mechanics as Illfonic's previous multiplayer games, including gamifying Michael Myers' bloodlust and using it as fuel for in-game slaying.

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Illfonic has found an interesting way to capture the mystique of Michael Myers. The developers lean heavily into Michael's original name throughout the film script (The Shape) to create a kind of ultimate boogeyman, one that fluidly blends in and out of the shadows with silent grace.

The devs have now explained how exactly playing as Michael Myers will work in Halloween. Playing as The Shape, gamers will stalk the citizens of Haddonfield, literally watching in-game NPCs and AI, waiting in the dark, and following them. Illfonic even went so far to make players see through the eye holes of Michael's mask. Stalking townspeople fills up Michael's bloodlust meter, which feels like the polar opposite of Jason's rage meter in F13 (and rightly so). Michael can only attack when bloodlust is full, so the gameplay loop is a kind of deadly cat-and-mouse game.

• Read more: Michael Myers has supernatural powers in new Halloween game: 'You can't kill the boogeyman'
• Read more: New Halloween game lets you play as Michael Myers and hunt players in 1978 Haddonfield

In a recent interview with GameSpark, Illfonic chief creative officer Jared Gerritsen explains how this works:

"When you play as Michael Myers, there's a bloodlust meter, and unless it's high, you can't kill any civilians.

"So how do you build bloodlust? Well, you have to follow civilians around like a stalker, just like Michael Myers. The civilians will spot Michael Myers while doing some work, and the moment they take their eyes off him, he'll disappear...and then when they return somewhere, he'll suddenly appear right in front of them.

"This kind of jump scare-like fun is recreated in a competitive game.

Michael can also turn invisible with a cloaking ability called Shape Jump, which allows players to roam across the map sight unseen.

Shape Jump was inspired by Michael's uncanny ability to show up in the films where and when you least expected it. The mechanic isn't quite the Morph ability that Jason used in F13: The Game, but it's a key example in the boss-level abilities you'd find in a one vs many multiplayer game.

Halloween is coming September 8, 2026 to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.