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

Supermassive Games, known for their horror titles like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures anthology, has reportedly halted development on a previously unannounced Blade Runner game. According to Insider Gaming, the game, titled Blade Runner: Time To Live, was envisioned as a "character focused, cinematic, action adventure" set in 2065. It would have centered on the last Blade Runner, a vintage Nexus-6 model named So-Lange, tasked with retiring the leader of a secretive replicant network. However, So-Lange faces betrayal and abandonment in a challenging setting, with gameplay featuring elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and deep character interactions.

Insider Gaming revealed that Blade Runner: Time To Live was backed by a development budget of approximately $45 million, with $9 million allocated specifically for external performance capture and acting talent. The game was set to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, with pre-production starting in September 2024 and a planned release in September 2027 on PC and current and next-generation consoles. Unfortunately, the project was canceled late last year due to complications with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder of the Blade Runner franchise.

In other Blade Runner gaming news, Annapurna Interactive announced in the summer of 2023 that they were developing their first in-house game, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, marking the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. However, there have been no further updates on this project.

Amidst these developments, Supermassive Games has been busy with other projects, including the next installment in the Dark Pictures series, Directive 8020, and Little Nightmares 3. The studio faced layoffs last year, with around 90 employees affected according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, as they entered a "period of consultation."

On a lighter note, fans of Supermassive's work can look forward to the theatrical release of the Until Dawn movie this weekend. For more on this adaptation directed by David F. Sanberg, you can read our review here.