"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 halted the development of an unannounced game set in the Blade Runner universe.

According to Insider Gaming, the project, titled Blade Runner: Time To Live, was envisioned as a "character-focused, cinematic, action-adventure" game set in the year 2065. The narrative would have centered around So-Lange, the last surviving Nexus-6 model, tasked with eliminating the leader of a clandestine replicant network. After being betrayed and left to die in a brutal environment, So-Lange's journey would have included elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and intense character interactions.

Insider Gaming disclosed that Blade Runner: Time To Live was backed by a substantial 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, with pre-production kicking off in September 2024 and a targeted release in September 2027 for PC and both current and next-generation consoles.

The project's demise reportedly stemmed from issues with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for the Blade Runner franchise, leading to the cancellation sometime late last year.

In related news, publisher Annapurna Interactive announced in the summer of 2023 that it was working on its first in-house game, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, touted as the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. However, updates on this project have been scarce since its announcement.

Supermassive Games has been busy with multiple projects, including the upcoming entry in the Dark Pictures series, Directive 8020, and development on Little Nightmares 3. Amidst these efforts, the studio faced layoffs last year, with around 90 employees let go during a "period of consultation," as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

On a lighter note, fans of Supermassive can look forward to the theatrical release of the Until Dawn movie this weekend. For more details, you can read our review of David F. Sanberg's adaptation of Until Dawn for the big screen.