Californium
Released Feb 2016
Taking the form of a first-person experience of a bad trip, Californium pays homage to sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick by transporting you into the life of a writer searching for his own identity. Explore, solve the riddles and conduct your investigation. Will you find what’s behind the simulacra ?
70% positive · 412 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Prices in USD, as listed by each store.
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Evaluation
Californium launched on February 17, 2016 as a self-contained narrative experience — a love letter to Philip K. Dick with a defined story, characters, and art direction. The developer shipped two patches shortly after launch (February 18 and March 3, 2016) addressing bugs, improving the save system, and adding the free OST. After March 2016, developer activity on this title effectively ceased — no new content, no expansions, and no roadmap for future additions were ever communicated.
The only post-launch communication since 2016 was a publisher-wide anniversary post from October 19, 2023, in which ARTE France celebrated 10 years of game publishing and promoted a catalogue sale. This was a broad publisher announcement, not a development update for Californium specifically, and contains no indication of new content for this game.
With no DLC ever announced or released, no ongoing update pattern, and a store description that presents the game as a complete, standalone narrative work, Californium shipped as a finished product. The last meaningful development activity was the March 3, 2016 patch.
Evidence
Second post-launch patch improving the save system and fixing several bugs across chapters. Last development-focused update on record.
Store description presents Californium as a complete, self-contained narrative experience inspired by Philip K. Dick — no mention of ongoing updates, seasons, or future content.
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
ARTE France
Achievements
7
Platform
Windows, macOS
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player
About this game
Taking the form of wacky shenanigans and a first-person experience of a bad trip, Californium pays homage to sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, The Man in the High Castle, etc.) by transporting you into the life of a writer who is searching for his own identity. Will you find what’s behind the simulacra ?
Berkeley, 1967. Experience the perils of coming down off acid, a post-breakup bout of depression, and the anguish of a dying career: Welcome to the life of Elvin Green, a science fiction writer in deep distress. Get ready for a sensory trip that will derail your sense of reality and replace it with powerful hallucinations. You spend your time and money on drugs and cheap alcohol, and are plagued by insomnia and struggles with blank page syndrome. Vague memories of your wife Thea and your editor Don bleed into each other. Everything you thought was real starts to crumble.
It would be so simple to give in to the promises of alternate realities, each one more attractive than the next… Will you let these ever-present voices take control of your mind?
Californium plunges you into a psychedelic world, leaving you searching for glitches in the matrix.
Darjeeling, Nova Production and ARTE France are proud to present this downright love letter to the world of Philip K. Dick. Experience counterintuitive art direction by Olivier Bonhomme (Homo Machina), an exhilarating soundtrack by Xavier Thiry, and an incredible performance by actor Paul Bandey in the part of the mysterious Theta.
Berkeley, 1967. Experience the perils of coming down off acid, a post-breakup bout of depression, and the anguish of a dying career: Welcome to the life of Elvin Green, a science fiction writer in deep distress. Get ready for a sensory trip that will derail your sense of reality and replace it with powerful hallucinations. You spend your time and money on drugs and cheap alcohol, and are plagued by insomnia and struggles with blank page syndrome. Vague memories of your wife Thea and your editor Don bleed into each other. Everything you thought was real starts to crumble.
It would be so simple to give in to the promises of alternate realities, each one more attractive than the next… Will you let these ever-present voices take control of your mind?
Californium plunges you into a psychedelic world, leaving you searching for glitches in the matrix.
Darjeeling, Nova Production and ARTE France are proud to present this downright love letter to the world of Philip K. Dick. Experience counterintuitive art direction by Olivier Bonhomme (Homo Machina), an exhilarating soundtrack by Xavier Thiry, and an incredible performance by actor Paul Bandey in the part of the mysterious Theta.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 27, 2026
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