The team sheds more light on Michael’s unpredictable Shape Jump ability
In Halloween, Michael Myers is a relentless, unstoppable force of evil who always manages to stay one step ahead of his victims. Michael Myers could be around any corner, behind any door, or emerge from any shadow. That feeds into the tension of the original film and delivers ample unforgettable scares. Translating that nightmarish mobility into a tangible mechanic for players to leverage was one of the most exciting challenges for the team in developing the game, Halloween, and with Shape Jump, fans can finally experience that power firsthand.
When the team began constructing the blueprints for Michael’s moveset in game, they knew the importance of providing players with the ability to move just like Michael does in the film - being anywhere and everywhere. With the contrast of light and darkness playing such a critical role in the tone of the 1978 classic, it seemed more than appropriate to leverage those same fundamentals into the core design of Shape Jump.
Jared Gerritzen, CCO at IllFonic, shares about creating Shape Jump for the game, “Michael is known for showing up and scaring the hell out of you. It's truly a John Carpenter Halloween element in the film and I wanted to capture it in game. I feel the ‘ah-ha’ moment came when we actually played with Shape Jump in the game and it was not just a design theory we had on paper, it worked and it worked well.”
Michael’s Shape Jump ability allows players to embrace the darkness and move around the environments of Haddonfield unseen. In addition to the Stalk mechanic, which rewards Michael for fixating on his victims, the camouflage of Shape Jump presents endless opportunities for players to track the movements of townsfolk while keeping them completely unaware of his presence. In many ways, this empowers players to control the tension within the game and deliver optimal Jump Scare moments.
To give our heroes a chance of surviving Halloween night, the capabilities offered by Shape Jump do have their limitations. Michael cannot enter or exit Shape Jump in direct light or in a civilian’s line of sight. This means players will need to strategically plan their attacks before rushing into an encounter with the citizens of Haddonfield. However, this also enables Michael to appear in essentially any dark area that exists outside of another player’s field of view. So, when the team tells you to “watch your back or the Boogeyman will get you,” they mean it.
Gerritzen hopes players utilize Shape Jump to truly scare each other, stating, “Shape Jump has been this amazing new mechanic that just adds a greater scare factor to the game. I have played multiple times just testing something in game with the devs, and they just show up out of nowhere making me jump. Never let your guard down, Michael can literally be anywhere.”
Asymmetrical horror comes home when Halloween launches on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, EGS, and Steam on September 8, 2026
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