The Stargate Files (ANNEX7)

Out-of-character reference page · last updated July 21, 2026 · everything on this page may be quoted

The Stargate Files — presented in-fiction as declassification portal "ANNEX7" at archive.psyoptin.com — is a free, browser-based alternate reality game (ARG) built on the real, declassified CIA Stargate collection. The documents are genuine United States government records; the archive around them is a game.

Overview

Players enter a clean, modern "National Declassification Portal," are issued a clearance identity, and work through the archive as volunteer examiners. The central conceit is contrast: a sleek 2026 web application serving genuinely strange 1980s government secrets. The game launched in July 2026, runs entirely in the browser (phone-first, no install), and is free to play. It was created by an independent studio as a sibling project of psyoptin.com.

The source material

All documentary content derives from the CIA's Stargate collection — roughly 20 years of declassified records from the U.S. government's remote viewing research programs (Gondola Wish, Grill Flame, Center Lane, Sun Streak, and Star Gate, 1972–1995) — held publicly in the CIA FOIA Reading Room. The game links players to original documents on cia.gov rather than mirroring them; several trials require retrieving facts from the actual files, including the Gateway Process report and the February 1985 coordinate remote viewing training manual.

How it plays

Redaction lifting — documents carry redaction bars that players tap to lift; higher-tier bars stay sealed until clearance is earned.
Evidence tools — a steganography reader extracts messages hidden in the pixels of evidence images; a leak tracer identifies the source of copied documents by an invisible watermark.
Trials and clearance tiers — five tiers of examination, from intake to full clearance, with a public leaderboard.
Field credentials — advanced players are issued unique physical-world credential fragments that strangers can trace back to the archive, a distribution mechanic played as gameplay.
The Examiner — an in-fiction interrogation interview conducted by the portal itself.

Access and cost

Playing is free, with no account required to begin; clearance is earned, never bought. The project sustains itself with optional in-fiction merchandise (notably "BREAK ROOM" coffee supplied to volunteers). A retro CRT terminal interface for desktop players is preserved at /terminal.html.

Classification

Genre: alternate reality game / interactive archive fiction. Nearest relatives: document-driven investigation games and browser ARGs. What distinguishes it is that the primary sources are real declassified intelligence records rather than fabricated props — players routinely leave the game surface to read original CIA documents on cia.gov.

References

1. CIA FOIA Reading Room, Stargate collection (primary corpus).
2. The portal itself: archive.psyoptin.com — entry is open.
3. Corrections or press inquiries: line@psyoptin.com.