Cepheus Protocol
Open-world military strategy against a spreading zombie outbreak
Halcyon Winds · Released May 15, 2020 · Early Access
ActionAdventureIndieMassively MultiplayerRPGSimulationStrategyEarly Access
- Reviews
- Mostly Positive
- 75% of 3,768
- Recent reviews
- Mostly Positive
- 79% of 29 in 30 days
- Playing now
- 21
- right now
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Last update
- 2 weeks ago
- Sep 4, 2026
What is Cepheus Protocol?
Cepheus Protocol is an open-world, real-time strategy game set in the Bay Area during a virus outbreak that turns people into infected swarms. You command military units, build defenses, and try to contain the spread. You can also control an operator from a third-person view, adjust Pandemic Mode settings, or share command in co-op.
For you if...
- +you like directing soldiers against growing infected hordes
- +you enjoy coordinating tactics with other players
- +you like adjusting the rules of survival scenarios
Not for you if...
- −you prefer turn-based combat to real-time unit management
- −you want a finished game rather than early access
What players say
75% of 3,768 reviews are positive · 79% of 29 in the last 30 days
Players praise the military-versus-infected premise and cooperative play. They frequently complain about unit pathfinding and bugs, and many say the ongoing rebuild lacks parts of the older version.
Screenshots and trailer
Cepheus Protocol system requirements
As published by the developer.
Minimum
- OS
- Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
- Processor
- Intel® Core™ i5-4500K
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce 1060 GTX or AMD Radeon Equivalent 4 GB
- Memory
- 8 GB RAM
- Storage
- 8 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 12
- Notes
- **recommended SSD install for optimal performance
Recommended
- OS
- Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
- Processor
- Intel® Core™ i7-6770K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce 2060 GTX or AMD Radeon Equivalent 6GB VRAM
- Memory
- 16 GB RAM
- Storage
- 8 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 12
- Notes
- **recommended SSD install for optimal performance
PC version details
DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.
- DRM
- None declared on Steam
- Controller
- Keyboard and mouse
- Platforms
- Windows
- Achievements
- 5
- Steam features
- Workshop, Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards
Steam Deck: Playable
- Default controller config not fully functional
- Sometimes shows mouse, keyboard or non-Deck controller icons
- Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
- Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
- Default configuration is not performant
Multiplayer and co-op
Languages
Full audio: English. Text only: Simplified Chinese, Korean, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish - Spain, Portuguese - Portugal, French.
Tags
- Sandbox
- Zombies
- RTS
- Survival
- Post-apocalyptic
- Building
- Strategy
- Gore
- Open World
- Singleplayer
- Diplomacy
- Indie
- Action
- Early Access
- Tactical
- Base Building
Recent updates
- Sep 4, 2026 · 2026.9.4 Experimental Patch Notes & September Development Update
- Aug 21, 2026 · 2026.8.21.1 Experimental Patch Notes & August Development Update
- Aug 5, 2026 · 2026.8.4.1 + 4.2 Experimental and Normal Patch Notes
- Aug 1, 2026 · 2026.7.31.3 Quality of Life Update Live + GPU Fog of War Tonight on Experimental
- Jul 28, 2026 · 2026.7.27 CERC OPS Arrives on Experimental Plus Major Fixes
7 DLC available.
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