"Next-Gen Blade Runner Game Scrapped by Until Dawn Studio"

Supermassive Games, renowned for their gripping horror adventures such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures anthology series, has reportedly halted the development of an unannounced Blade Runner game. According to a report by Insider Gaming, Supermassive was crafting a "character focused, cinematic, action adventure" titled Blade Runner: Time To Live. The narrative was set to unfold in 2065, following the last Blade Runner, a vintage Nexus-6 model named So-Lange. Tasked with retiring the leader of an underground replicant network, So-Lange faces betrayal and must survive in a harsh environment. The gameplay would have been segmented into stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and intense character interactions.

Insider Gaming disclosed that Blade Runner: Time To Live was backed by a full development budget of approximately $45 million, with $9 million specifically allocated for external performance capture and acting talent. The game was slated to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, entering pre-production in September 2024, and was targeted for a September 2027 release across PC and both current and next-generation consoles.

However, the project reportedly disintegrated due to complications with Alcon Entertainment, the entity holding the rights to the Blade Runner franchise. The cancellation occurred sometime late last year, as per Insider Gaming.

In other Blade Runner game news, publisher Annapurna Interactive announced in the summer of 2023 their intention to develop their first in-house game, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. Touted as the first Blade Runner game in 25 years, details about this project have remained scarce since its announcement.

Meanwhile, Supermassive Games has been managing multiple projects, including the upcoming installment in The Dark Pictures series titled Directive 8020, and the development of Little Nightmares 3. Amidst these endeavors, the studio faced layoffs last year, reportedly letting go of around 90 employees as it entered a "period of consultation," according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

On a different note, fans of Supermassive's work can look forward to the theatrical release of the Until Dawn movie this weekend. You can find our review of David F. Sanberg's adaptation of Until Dawn for the big screen [ttpp]here[ttpp].