Clockwork Revolution: Everything we know so far

Clockwork Revolution, an upcoming FPS action-RPG from inXile Entertainment, features steampunk-inspired time travel and a dynamic combat system in the Victorian-era metropolis of Avalon, with a possible release in 2025.

Clockwork Revolution is one of those games that, once you see it in action, immediately burrows into the brain. Developer inXile Entertainment is behind this time-bending steampunk shooter, with the studio taking a well-earned break from the Wasteland and Bard's Tale franchises to tackle this exciting new IP. 

Clockwork Revolution is turning heads with its BioShock vibes, although this upcoming Xbox Series X game caught my attention because of the depth inXile is teasing. You'll have the opportunity to travel back in time, where your interactions and choices in the past will have a butterfly effect on the present – altering the steam-powered metropolis of Avalon around you in unprecedented ways. 

While there is no firm Clockwork Revolution release date just yet, it's undoubtedly one of the most anticipated Xbox exclusives out there right now. So keep on reading to find all the latest Clockwork Revolution news and everything else we know so far. 

Microsoft Gaming is yet to officially confirm a Clockwork Revolution release date, however there are indications that the shooter is set to land in 2025. Eager fans have been digging into the resumes of attached voice actors, with one such suggesting that inXile's latest is set to land next year. It's all guesswork right now though; the game hasn't been seen since 2023, where inXile said that it was "still in early development" as it shared its "pre-alpha" reveal footage. 

Clockwork Revolution is expected to release on PC and Xbox Series X. With inXile being part of the Xbox Game Studios list those platforms are a given, so too is a day-one release into the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service. What's unclear is whether a Clockwork Revolution PS5 release is likely; Microsoft has been publishing more of its games on rival platforms, but you should expect Clockwork Revolution to have at least a small window of Xbox exclusivity. 

The Clockwork Revolution announcement trailer as seen during this year's Xbox Games Showcase did a great job of setting the scene. In it, we get a look at the Victorian steampunk aesthetic of the world of Avalon, including flying steam trains and large blimps floating in the sky. There are robots aplenty in this futuristic take on the Victorian industrial revolution, and we also meet the game's protagonist for the first time as well. 

As she defaces a poster of the mysterious Lady Ironwood, it's made clear that this is one ruler who rules her city with an appropriately tight iron grip. Lady Ironwood's voice underscores the trailer, sounding like a perfectly poised bad guy already, and judging from the impressive array of old-fashioned yet high-tech-looking weapons wielded by the playable character during the gameplay sequences shown, we're going to have a lot of fun taking her down.

The Clockwork Revolution BioShock vibes are uncanny, aren't they? The latest title from Wasteland developer inXile is an FPS action game with a distinctly sci-fi take on a historical setting. According to Xbox Wire, it also features "dynamic time-bending combat, deep interconnected roleplaying systems, and the ability to create your own unique character from the ground up."

The city of Avalon itself is looking particularly interesting, a "vibrant Victorian-era metropolis" where "wealthy industrialists replace their limbs with ornate clockwork prosthetics, and mechanical servants fulfill their masters’ every whim." These technological advancements hold nefarious origins, however, as Lady Ironwood's use of time travel allows her to change moments in Avalon's history to keep the social strata working for her and her fellow upper-class citizens.

The time travel device, known as the Chronometer, is something we will be using ourselves as we explore the world of Clockwork Revolution. With it, we can "travel back in time, choose how to influence the past, and then return to the present to experience the effects of your decisions." On top of this, the gameplay sequences shown in the trailer depict first-person gunplay using a variety of muskets and other, more technically advanced pieces of equipment that function much the same.

inXile is the developer team behind Clockwork Revolution, with this being its first title published by Xbox Games Studio. The magical-industrial setting of Avalon is nothing new to some members of inXile, however, with game director Chad Moore and principal designer Jason Anderson at the helm. The studio's work on 2001's Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura is bound to be helpful in this new steampunk RPG, and 22 years since Arcanum's launch, it'll be interesting to see those influences bleed through. Naturally, you probably know inXile best from its work on the Wasteland series, the precursor to the Fallout franchise. 

*While you wait for Clockwork Revolution, you should go back and play Wasteland 3 – it's one of the best games on Xbox Game Pass right now. *