Supermassive Games, renowned for their chilling horror titles such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures anthology, has reportedly halted the development of an unannounced game in the Blade Runner universe. According to Insider Gaming, the project, tentatively titled "Blade Runner: Time To Live," was envisioned as a character-driven, cinematic action-adventure. Set in 2065, it would have followed the journey of So-Lange, the last of the vintage Nexus-6 models, tasked with eliminating the head of a secretive replicant network. However, betrayal leaves So-Lange stranded in a hostile setting, navigating through phases of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and intense character interactions.
Insider Gaming disclosed that the budget for Blade Runner: Time To Live was around $45 million, with $9 million specifically allocated for performance capture and external acting talent. The game was designed to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, with pre-production kicking off in September 2024, aiming for a launch in September 2027 on PC and both current and next-gen consoles. Unfortunately, conflicts with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder of the Blade Runner franchise, led to the project's cancellation late last year.
In other Blade Runner news, publisher Annapurna Interactive revealed plans for their first in-house game, "Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth," in the summer of 2023, marking the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. However, details and updates on this project have been scarce since the announcement.
Amidst these developments, Supermassive Games has been busy with multiple projects, including the upcoming Directive 8020 in The Dark Pictures series and Little Nightmares 3. The studio also faced significant layoffs last year, affecting approximately 90 employees as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, during a period described as a "consultation phase."
On a lighter note, fans of Supermassive can look forward to the theatrical release of the Until Dawn movie this weekend. For those interested, our review of David F. Sandberg's adaptation of Until Dawn to the big screen is available for a deeper dive into what to expect.
