The Matrix Awakens leaked art teases ‘an Unreal Engine 5 experience’

The Matrix Awakens is a Matrix “experience” of some kind, and potentially the first widely playable Unreal Engine 5 demo, according to leaked artwork that appeared online Thursday.

Posted on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, the image shows a city clouded in that classic Matrix-green hue, with lines of code scrolling by. “The Matrix Awakens” appears at the top in the franchise’s font and art style, followed by the phrase “an Unreal Engine 5 experience.” The image was found on the PlayStation Network back end with “no details” except that it is a PlayStation 5 product, according to the Reddit post.

Image: PlayStation Store via r/GamingLeaksAndRumours

Unreal Engine 5, which developer Epic Games first showed off in May 2020, is still in early access. While there are games announced as in development using the new engine, nothing has shipped yet. However, the leaked image only refers to this Matrix collaboration as an “experience,” not a game per se. That muddies the waters a bit, and makes it a little unclear what this is. Perhaps it’s something like Kid A Mnesia Exhibition, the interactive museum released last month by Radiohead and Epic Games on PS5 and Windows PC.

Either way, it seems safe to assume that whatever The Matrix Awakens is, it’ll be an interactive ad for the upcoming film The Matrix Resurrections, the long-awaited fourth entry in the franchise, which hits theaters and HBO Max on Dec. 22.

Outside of its leaked existence and the text on the image, we know nothing else about The Matrix Awakens. But with The Game Awards taking place between now and the new Matrix film’s release date, The Matrix Awakens seems like a likely reveal for the award show, which is set to begin at 8 p.m. EST on Dec. 9.