Key art — landscapeDownload ↓
PRESS KIT / VERSION 1.0
Signal Drift
A command-driven hacking sim wrapped in a CRT-noir thriller.
Break in. Find the truth. Choose the damage.
01 / FACTSHEET
At a glance
- Creator
- John Siciliano
- Developer / publisher
- Alcove Research LLC
- Release date
- June 29, 2026
- Availability
- Available now on Steam
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Genre
- RPG, Simulation
- Mode
- Single-player
- Language
- English interface and subtitles
- Steam features
- 20 achievements, Steam Cloud, Family Sharing
- US list price
- $9.99
- Minimum
- 8 GB RAM · 4 GB storage
- Official site
- signaldrift.net
- Steam
- Store page ↗
02 / DESCRIPTION
The game
Short description
Break into fictional networks with real-feeling shell commands. Scan hosts, crack credentials, trace logs, steal evidence, and survive the fallout in a CRT-noir thriller where Signal Ghost's local AI characters remember what you do—and what you say.
Full description
Signal Drift is a command-driven hacking simulation wrapped in a CRT-noir thriller. Inside the fictional SignalOS desktop, players scan hosts, recover credentials, move through SSH sessions, reconstruct events from logs, steal evidence, and decide whether to expose, sell, alter, or erase what they find. Readable Linux-style commands and flexible solutions make each investigation feel authentic while remaining entirely fictional and self-contained.
Four long-form roles lead through distinct contacts, betrayals, and endings. Signal Ghost's bundled local language model lets characters remember conversations, relationships, and mission history while authored game systems remain in control of what is true and what can change.
03 / FEATURES
Key features
- Investigate through the command line.Use readable Linux-style commands including ls, cd, cat, grep, find, ssh, scp, ps, netstat, journalctl, and sudo.
- Find your own route.Solve objectives through flexible commands, pipelines, copied evidence, and alternate approaches.
- Choose what the evidence becomes.Expose, sell, alter, or erase what you recover—and live with the fallout.
- Play four long-form roles.Independent Operator, Hacker, Field Specter, and Corporate Espionage carry distinct arcs and endings.
- Talk to characters who remember.Signal Ghost generates character dialogue locally using mission context and relationship history.
- Keep playing after failure.Blown operations can lead to damage control, blackmail, cleanup work, and unexpected offers.
04 / ASSETS
Images
Screenshot — credential recoveryDownload ↓
Screenshot — host infiltrationDownload ↓
Screenshot — evidence discoveryDownload ↓
Screenshot — Signal Ghost IRCDownload ↓
Screenshot — active oppositionDownload ↓
05 / DISCLOSURE
Generative AI
Signal Ghost uses a bundled local language model to generate fictional character dialogue during play. Player-written IRC and direct messages are processed on the player's device using character context, relationship history, and current mission state; chat generation does not require an external AI service.
Authored game systems remain authoritative over mission facts, evidence, objectives, consequences, and saved state. Generated dialogue cannot rewrite the game simply by sounding convincing.
Some pre-generated artwork was created with generative AI and edited for use in the game.
Read the Signal Ghost engineering noteABOUT THE CREATOR
John Siciliano
John Siciliano created Signal Drift and built its Signal Ghost character-dialogue system.
ABOUT THE STUDIO
Alcove Research LLC
Alcove Research LLC is the developer and publisher of Signal Drift, a CRT-noir terminal thriller for Windows, macOS, and Linux.