Crossfire, the Debut Game From That's No Moon, Seeks to Revolutionize Cover Shooters

A studio founded by the minds behind Uncharted and The Last of Us is taking aim at one of gaming's most tired genres. That's No Moon, a new development house staffed by former Naughty Dog veterans, has unveiled Crossfire—a cover-based shooter promising to reinvent a category long defined by Gears of War's sticky walls and stop-and-pop rhythm.

The debut title marks the first project from That's No Moon, which assembled in secret over several years. The studio draws talent from the franchises that defined cinematic third-person action on PlayStation. Now it wants to apply that same narrative ambition to a genre that has barely evolved since 2006. Cover shooters have become predictable loops: hide, peek, fire, repeat. Crossfire aims to break that cycle with proprietary technology that alters how players interact with cover, movement, and enemy AI.

Why now? The cover shooter market has been quiet. Gears 5 arrived in 2019, and mainstream entries from other publishers have been sparse. Meanwhile, games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone pushed movement and verticality, making traditional cover mechanics feel dated. That's No Moon sees an opportunity to modernise the genre by blending fluid traversal with tactical depth—less 'stick to a wall' and more 'reactive, environmental combat.'

Key details remain scarce but promising. The studio is led by Michael Mumbauer, a former Naughty Dog senior director who oversaw the Uncharted series. Other veterans include engineers and designers who worked on The Last of Us Part II and the Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Crossfire is built on a new internal engine, codenamed 'Mosaic,' designed to procedurally generate cover and destructible environments. The team has not announced a publisher or release window, but the tech demo shown to CNET reportedly demonstrated seamless movement, adaptive cover geometry, and AI that flanks in unpredictable ways.

Industry analysts see this as a risky but necessary bet. The cover shooter has been declared dead by some critics, but That's No Moon believes there is untapped potential in combining high-fidelity storytelling with reflexive, cover-free gunplay. If successful, Crossfire could pressure other studios to rethink third-person action—similar to how Doom (2016) revitalised the arena shooter.

Looking ahead, That's No Moon is expected to share more gameplay footage later this year. A full reveal is likely at a major gaming event like Summer Game Fest or Gamescom. If the Mosaic engine delivers on its promise, Crossfire could become the template for a new generation of cover shooters—or at least prove that the genre still has life left in it.