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

Supermassive Games, renowned for their gripping horror titles such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and the Dark Pictures anthology, has reportedly ceased development on a yet-to-be-announced game set in the iconic Blade Runner universe. According to a report by Insider Gaming, the project, titled "Blade Runner: Time To Live," was envisioned as a "character focused, cinematic, action adventure" set in the year 2065. The narrative was set to follow the journey of So-Lange, a vintage Nexus-6 model Blade Runner, tasked with the mission to retire the leader of an underground replicant network. Betrayed and left for dead in a challenging environment, So-Lange's story would have been punctuated with elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and intense character interactions.

Insider Gaming disclosed that Blade Runner: Time To Live had a substantial development budget of approximately $45 million, which included $9 million specifically allocated for external performance capture and acting talent. The game was reportedly slated to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, with pre-production commencing in September 2024 and a targeted release in September 2027 across PC and both current and next-generation consoles. Unfortunately, the project fell through due to complications with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for the Blade Runner franchise, leading to its cancellation towards the end of last year.

In a related development, in the summer of 2023, Annapurna Interactive announced its foray into in-house game development with "Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth," marking the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. However, there have been no updates on this project since its initial announcement.

Amidst these developments, Supermassive Games has been busy with other projects, including the upcoming entry in the Dark Pictures series titled "Directive 8020" and "Little Nightmares 3." The studio also faced challenges last year, announcing layoffs affecting around 90 workers, as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, during a period of consultation.

In other news, fans of Supermassive's work can look forward to the cinematic adaptation of Until Dawn, which is set to hit theaters this weekend. For those interested, our review of David F. Sandberg's take on Until Dawn for the big screen is available for a deeper insight into this thrilling transition from game to movie.